I'm not a very good cook. And since I have virtually no imagination, I'm even less of a good cook if I don't have a recipe to follow! But, I thought I would give it a try as I had 8 nice pieces of tilapia to cook and I wasn't sure what to do with it.
So, I picked a zucchini out of my garden and quartered it and then sliced it very thin. I placed that in a bowl with a diced tomato (sadly, not from my garden YET!). I added some minced garlic, olive oil and some fresh basil from my herb garden. I combined these ingredients and put them in a baking dish.
I oiled, salted and peppered the filets and layed them on top. I covered the pan and baked it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The filets turned out tender and really flavorful! I really surprised myself that I could come up with a tasty (ok, but really simple) dish with no cookbook!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
England Trip
I've been meaning to do this for awhile now. Since it's a chilly, rainy Saturday, I guess it's time!
We recently had the opportunity to travel to England for the International Rotary Convention and to do some sightseeing. I really intended to journal while I was there but just couldn't find the time. The next best thing are the daily e-mails that I sent to my mom while we were there. I want to use this space to compile them into a "diary" type format:
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 10:18 AM
Subject: We made it!
Got in about 8am local time (3am home time). Checked into the hotel and slept for a bit. Just got to the covention center and found a computer so I thought I'd say HI!
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
It's cold and drizzly here too for day two. We just got done with Opening Ceremonies. Pretty amazing, actually. There are 50,000 people here from 154 different countries. And, of course, I met a lady in the restroom (ok, the Loo) from Toledo, Ohio. Go figure.
Stonehenge isn't on the list this time. They said on the news this morning that they are expecting 30,000 people there for the sunrise, despite security concerns :-O
We explored "downtown" Coventry last night. Isaac ordered a Guiness with his dinner. Most of the shops closed at 6pm though so we didn't get to do any shopping. Tonight, we're headed for Warwick Castle - 1000 year old castle- for dinner, tour and shows. Could be hokey, could be authentic. I'm not sure!
We're going to try to get to Stratford on Avon tomorrow, if possible.
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Well, the sun it out today and I don't have my jacket on!!!
Warwick Castle was a little on the hokey side but it was neat to see - none the less. The kids said it reminded them of Yankee Peddler.
Stratford-upon-Avon was really interesting yesterday. We toured Shakespeare's birthplace, deathplace, and a house that his daughter lived in. I wish we would have had more time to see Anne Hathaway's cottage and (oh, I forget the other one that is nearby). We just can't fit it all in but we'll do what we can!
Stratford-upon-Avon is an interesting town. All around Shakespeare's house are these really fancy stores and restaurants. Then, down the street is a food co-op/post office/bank building thing. There is also a huge, school there so in the evening, all the kids in their uniforms were all out and about.
Remind Isaac to tell you about the apparently drunk group of boys (rugby team) who were sinking the boats and swimming in the Avon river in their boxers and/or various forms of undress - quite the scene just across the street from the Royal Shakespeare Company's courtyard dining area - where we paid $60 for lunch yesterday - two sandwiches and a meat and cheese platter.
Everything is outrageously expensive!
Tonight, we're off to Birmingham to eat, shop and watch a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 7:28 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Yes, we're enjoying the trip.
Yesterday was sightseeing/shopping in Birmingham. It's a really great town with closed streets for shopping. They are having an International Food Fest there so there was tons of food (and beer) all over town. It's the second biggest city in England so it was packed with people.
One of the other suprising thing is that all the shops here close at 6pm. I can't understand how anyone gets any shopping done but they're not doing it in the evenings! Of course, yesterday we were in Birmingham about 1pm and everything was CROWDED - maybe no one works?
We're going to attend closing ceremonies for the convention today and get ready to head for London early in the morning. By the way, it's daylight here by 4am so we won't be traveling in the dark no matter how early we need to leave!
Enjoy the weather. It was sunny all day yesterday and so far today but highs are still around 72ish so it's not hot.
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Just another quick hi since we found wifi on our iPods. We killed a couple hours visiting Cadbury World today. There's actually a really cool story behind the founding of Bournville. It was worth the trip! I'll check in again tommorow when we reach london.
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 6:11 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
We made it to London and got all checked in. We're off to visit the queen!
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
It's interesting! Taylor says it looks like a really old DC. Everything is so BIG! I don't have a wide enough lens on my camera to capture everything!
Here's the walk we just took. All thousand or so miles of it:
Buckingham palace - caught the tail end of the changing of the guard
The Mall
Trafalgar Square
Scotland yard
Walked across the Thames
The Queen's Walk
Saw the London Eye but didn't ride
Walked back across the Thames
Big Ben
ParlimentWestminister Abby
Walked along the river back to the hotel to die!
Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the evening but tomorrow we take the tour bus to see some more sights
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 4:01 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
We had a little bit of a fiasco trying to figure out our London Day Passes but after we figured that out, we took a boat on the Thames to the London Tower and yes-we saw the crown jewels as well as watched some military people do a fancy ceremony shooting this fancy cannons over the river because today is Vetern's Day. We walked across the Tower Bridge, the kids rode the London Eye and we shopped at Harrods - where they were playing only Michael Jackson music.
It looks like we need to leave our hotel about 5am to catch our train to Paris. I'll be headed to bed soon!
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
There were ENTIRELY too many people to see any ghosts yesterday. I actually did buy a purse at Harrods, my third bag this trip! Turns out that hundreds of steps in thousand year old buildings are really hard on handbags!
We, relativly successfully did Paris today. We managed to briefly see everything that was on our list. Notre Dame was closed because of something big going on. Looked like a bishop type person and hundreds of priests. We couldn't read the sign or find anyone who spoke English to tell us what it was so I took pictures of the sign so that maybe Doug can translate for us.
We also saw the Louvre, champs elyesse (spelling-I know), arc de triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower.
For any number of reasons, we all like London WAY better than Paris but I'm glad we saw it!
Heading home tomorrow. We should be in Cleveland around 3:30. We'll call shortly afterwards to check in!
We recently had the opportunity to travel to England for the International Rotary Convention and to do some sightseeing. I really intended to journal while I was there but just couldn't find the time. The next best thing are the daily e-mails that I sent to my mom while we were there. I want to use this space to compile them into a "diary" type format:
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 10:18 AM
Subject: We made it!
Got in about 8am local time (3am home time). Checked into the hotel and slept for a bit. Just got to the covention center and found a computer so I thought I'd say HI!
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
It's cold and drizzly here too for day two. We just got done with Opening Ceremonies. Pretty amazing, actually. There are 50,000 people here from 154 different countries. And, of course, I met a lady in the restroom (ok, the Loo) from Toledo, Ohio. Go figure.
Stonehenge isn't on the list this time. They said on the news this morning that they are expecting 30,000 people there for the sunrise, despite security concerns :-O
We explored "downtown" Coventry last night. Isaac ordered a Guiness with his dinner. Most of the shops closed at 6pm though so we didn't get to do any shopping. Tonight, we're headed for Warwick Castle - 1000 year old castle- for dinner, tour and shows. Could be hokey, could be authentic. I'm not sure!
We're going to try to get to Stratford on Avon tomorrow, if possible.
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Well, the sun it out today and I don't have my jacket on!!!
Warwick Castle was a little on the hokey side but it was neat to see - none the less. The kids said it reminded them of Yankee Peddler.
Stratford-upon-Avon was really interesting yesterday. We toured Shakespeare's birthplace, deathplace, and a house that his daughter lived in. I wish we would have had more time to see Anne Hathaway's cottage and (oh, I forget the other one that is nearby). We just can't fit it all in but we'll do what we can!
Stratford-upon-Avon is an interesting town. All around Shakespeare's house are these really fancy stores and restaurants. Then, down the street is a food co-op/post office/bank building thing. There is also a huge, school there so in the evening, all the kids in their uniforms were all out and about.
Remind Isaac to tell you about the apparently drunk group of boys (rugby team) who were sinking the boats and swimming in the Avon river in their boxers and/or various forms of undress - quite the scene just across the street from the Royal Shakespeare Company's courtyard dining area - where we paid $60 for lunch yesterday - two sandwiches and a meat and cheese platter.
Everything is outrageously expensive!
Tonight, we're off to Birmingham to eat, shop and watch a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 7:28 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Yes, we're enjoying the trip.
Yesterday was sightseeing/shopping in Birmingham. It's a really great town with closed streets for shopping. They are having an International Food Fest there so there was tons of food (and beer) all over town. It's the second biggest city in England so it was packed with people.
One of the other suprising thing is that all the shops here close at 6pm. I can't understand how anyone gets any shopping done but they're not doing it in the evenings! Of course, yesterday we were in Birmingham about 1pm and everything was CROWDED - maybe no one works?
We're going to attend closing ceremonies for the convention today and get ready to head for London early in the morning. By the way, it's daylight here by 4am so we won't be traveling in the dark no matter how early we need to leave!
Enjoy the weather. It was sunny all day yesterday and so far today but highs are still around 72ish so it's not hot.
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
Just another quick hi since we found wifi on our iPods. We killed a couple hours visiting Cadbury World today. There's actually a really cool story behind the founding of Bournville. It was worth the trip! I'll check in again tommorow when we reach london.
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 6:11 AM
Subject: Re: We made it!
We made it to London and got all checked in. We're off to visit the queen!
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
It's interesting! Taylor says it looks like a really old DC. Everything is so BIG! I don't have a wide enough lens on my camera to capture everything!
Here's the walk we just took. All thousand or so miles of it:
Buckingham palace - caught the tail end of the changing of the guard
The Mall
Trafalgar Square
Scotland yard
Walked across the Thames
The Queen's Walk
Saw the London Eye but didn't ride
Walked back across the Thames
Big Ben
ParlimentWestminister Abby
Walked along the river back to the hotel to die!
Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the evening but tomorrow we take the tour bus to see some more sights
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 4:01 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
We had a little bit of a fiasco trying to figure out our London Day Passes but after we figured that out, we took a boat on the Thames to the London Tower and yes-we saw the crown jewels as well as watched some military people do a fancy ceremony shooting this fancy cannons over the river because today is Vetern's Day. We walked across the Tower Bridge, the kids rode the London Eye and we shopped at Harrods - where they were playing only Michael Jackson music.
It looks like we need to leave our hotel about 5am to catch our train to Paris. I'll be headed to bed soon!
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: We made it!
There were ENTIRELY too many people to see any ghosts yesterday. I actually did buy a purse at Harrods, my third bag this trip! Turns out that hundreds of steps in thousand year old buildings are really hard on handbags!
We, relativly successfully did Paris today. We managed to briefly see everything that was on our list. Notre Dame was closed because of something big going on. Looked like a bishop type person and hundreds of priests. We couldn't read the sign or find anyone who spoke English to tell us what it was so I took pictures of the sign so that maybe Doug can translate for us.
We also saw the Louvre, champs elyesse (spelling-I know), arc de triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower.
For any number of reasons, we all like London WAY better than Paris but I'm glad we saw it!
Heading home tomorrow. We should be in Cleveland around 3:30. We'll call shortly afterwards to check in!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Garden Harvest!
I have had a REALLY crappy year for my garden so far. The nights have not been warm enough to ripen my tomatoes and the rabbits ate all my lettuce and beans. I did FINALLY get a ripe, yellow squash so I picked it tonight and used it with dinner. I made some penne pasta and then made a "sauce" of olive oil in which I sauteed garlic, the squash, some mushrooms and tomatoes (not from my garden :-( ). This is one of my favorite, easy, quick, summer meals.
Son is at band camp so I didn't have to hear him complain about vegetables and Hubby just picked out the pasta and left the vegetables.
I hope everyone else's garden is doing better than mine!
Son is at band camp so I didn't have to hear him complain about vegetables and Hubby just picked out the pasta and left the vegetables.
I hope everyone else's garden is doing better than mine!
Monday, July 13, 2009
We had a wonderful, busy weekend! Three of my cousins, and their significant others, joined us for Happy Hour on Friday night. That made a group of 10 of us and we had a wonderful time! The weather was really warm and we were able to visit outside until 10pm with short sleeves on!
Saturday started off rainy but cleared up in the afternoon. Mom, Dad, Daughter, Hubby and I took Grandma to the Italian festival. She's 87 and really looks forward to this every year. She enjoyed seeing some of her friends and listening to Italian music.
We started off Sunday with church and breakfast. Then, we spent a couple hours on the boat. We came home to celebrate Son's 18th birthday with some chicken sandwiches and an ice cream cake.
I'm starting off the week with a business trip to Vermont. I'm excited as I have only been to Vermont once and I was about 14 so I really don't remember it! I'm hoping the trip is uneventful in terms of traveling and training but I hope I get to eat at some great restaurants and do some shopping!
Saturday started off rainy but cleared up in the afternoon. Mom, Dad, Daughter, Hubby and I took Grandma to the Italian festival. She's 87 and really looks forward to this every year. She enjoyed seeing some of her friends and listening to Italian music.
We started off Sunday with church and breakfast. Then, we spent a couple hours on the boat. We came home to celebrate Son's 18th birthday with some chicken sandwiches and an ice cream cake.
I'm starting off the week with a business trip to Vermont. I'm excited as I have only been to Vermont once and I was about 14 so I really don't remember it! I'm hoping the trip is uneventful in terms of traveling and training but I hope I get to eat at some great restaurants and do some shopping!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Creamed Chicken Sandwiches
The last several weeks have been simply crazy! It started with preparing for, and then taking a trip to England (with a day spent in Paris) and ended with a huge Fourth of July picnic. I actually cooked dinner today utilizing some of the leftovers from Saturday's picnic.
Creamed Chicken Sandwiches
5 or so pounds of chicken breast meat
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup milk
small bag of potato chips
buns
Cook the chicken, soup and milk in the crock pot for about 8 hours on high. Shread the chicken breasts. Crush about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of potato chips and add to the mixture. Stir well until chips are mushy and integrated into the mix. These should soak up most of the liquid - use more or less chips to get to a consistency that can be eaten in a bun.
Enjoy!
Creamed Chicken Sandwiches
5 or so pounds of chicken breast meat
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup milk
small bag of potato chips
buns
Cook the chicken, soup and milk in the crock pot for about 8 hours on high. Shread the chicken breasts. Crush about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of potato chips and add to the mixture. Stir well until chips are mushy and integrated into the mix. These should soak up most of the liquid - use more or less chips to get to a consistency that can be eaten in a bun.
Enjoy!
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