Southern Black-Eyed Pea Salad

This just looks cool and refreshing on a hot day like today.

You will need:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
4 small yellow summer squash, quartered and thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers (optional)
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds crushed
2-15 ounce cans black eyed peas ,rinsed and drained
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 tablespoons cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped tomatoes

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add squash,peppers, garlic, and cumin: cool for 5 to 6 minutes until squash is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool

2. In a large bowl, combine squash mixture, black-eyed peas, green onions,cilantro and salt. Cover and chill until serving time.

3.To serve, toss pea mixture with tomato. Makes 8 servings.

This would be good to make ahead of time and toss together when you are ready to eat.

Vacation Pictures

These are some more pictures from our vacation to the Sierra's .

These lakes are all in Mammoth Lake area, known as Twin Lakes.

Bill is fishing from a dock right there at the campgrounds. He caught 2 fish that day.

We went to Devil's Postpile one day, and took the tram and hiked around Devil's Postpile.

The waterfall was about a 2minute drive from where we were camped. It is beautiful at the top and when you look down the waterfall you can see Twin Lakes and the campground that we actually stayed in.

Hope you enjoy these pictures. !! I have a good friend Celeste that was raised in this area and I'm sure she will enjoy seeing these.

Salmon

Ok, I told you that I would share our friends recipe for Salmon on the BBQ . We had this in the Sierra's.He started with a cedar board. Have you heard about these? It is a board made for the BBQ and it has a cedar taste. You can buy them almost anywhere, Costco and Walmart have them .

He coated the salmon in oil and seasoned with Season Salt ,he also likes crushed garlic on top, we did not have any(remember we were in the middle of the National Forest). He then put the fish on the board and cooked it for about 20 minutes.

I forgot to tell you, he soaked the cedar board about 30 minutes in water. When the heat hits the board it starts smoking and that's what gives the cedar taste to the food.

So tonight my husband made tilapia ,and used the same method of cooking , and it was delicious.

If you like smoked favor in your food , you need to try this recipe.

Friends

This is a picture of our friends from California Mike and Jennifer. We have been friends for over 30 years.

We met up with them on our vacation to the Sierra's. We had a good time and alot of good food.

Mike did the cooking , I will share his recipe for salmon on the BBQ on my next post.

It was yummy !!

Vacation

Bill and I just got back from a great trip to the Sierra's in Northern California.

We were there about 35 years ago before we were even married. This picture was taken in Mammoth Lake area.

It was so pretty and we had such a good time. We

went there with some friends of ours that live in California and go there every year. We had a good time visiting with them . We spent a week there camping in the National Forest.

I have alot of beautiful pictures that I took and will share with you .

Quote Jar

I thought this would make a inspiring and fortune-filled gift. Write mood boosting quotes,

sayings, or

tasks on tiny slips of paper,then use them to fill a

clear jar.

For extra oomph, dress up the jar lid with patterned paper and other craft supplies.

There are some great sites on the Internet for quotes and sayings, or you can use some of your own that you have gathered over the years.

Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

These day's are getting hotter and hotter, I thought this might be a great idea to do with your kids. Who does not like a bowl of ice cream on these hot summer day's .

What you'll need:

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup milk or half and half

14 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons rock salt

1 pint size plastic food storage bag

1 gallon size plastic food storage bag

Ice cubes

How to make it :

1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.

2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag and seal it

3. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.

4. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes .

Sound like fun? I think the kids will enjoy this activity.