Summertime is almost officially here, but according to my meal plan, it’s already arrived.  You can’t get more summertime than BLT’s, corn on the cob, cantaloupe and fresh blueberries!  Those are the ingredients of several recent meals.  The BLT was in the form of a salad.  It’s a lighter version and is bursting with flavors, color and textures.  I got the recipe from Cooking Light’s site.  

BLT Bread Salad
Ingredients

6 ounces French bread baguette, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Cooking spray
4 slices hickory-smoked bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Layer bread on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until toasted.
3. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Cut bacon into 1/2-inch pieces. Stir oil into bacon drippings in pan; remove from heat. Stir in vinegar, pepper, and salt.
4. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, and onions in a large bowl; drizzle with vinaigrette. Add bread; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with bacon and cheese. Serve immediately

My husband asked me to bake something to take for our Sunday School class yesterday.  I took a stroll through my Pinterest recipes and found this cake I’d pinned and hadn’t tried yet.  I love blueberries in anything, and to put them in a moist coffee cake sounded like a great plan!  I enjoyed it – I hope the others in class did, too!

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
Serves 6-8

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (set aside 1/4 cup of this to toss with the blueberries)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk***

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top
*** To make homemade buttermilk, place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches the 1-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Use only 1/2 cup of the prepared mixture for the recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

I hope you’ll try these great recipes.  Perhaps one (or both) would be a great way to celebrate the first day of summer on Saturday!

What summer recipes are on your menu this week?

With love from my country kitchen,

Happy Friday, friends.  I’m a happy girl today because I’m home!  California is a nice place to visit, but home is the best place in the whole wide world!

It’s getting increasingly harder for me to go away for these long stretches because I begin to miss home after just a couple of days!  I literally have to discipline myself when I’m away not to think about home, or else I could cry like an elementary age girl who’s away at church camp!  I don’t apologize for being a homebody.  God is the One Who created home, and it’s meant to be a haven.  I just never want it to keep me from serving in other places where the Lord would direct us.

When I walked in the door of my house yesterday my heart smiled.  I love this place.  It’s the place where my family gathers.  It’s where we share meals, secrets, laughter and sorrows.  It’s a place of comfort.  It’s where we can rest, be refreshed and encouraged after long days of ministry.

After we unpacked, I warmed up the supper my thoughtful daughter made for us, then my husband made a pot of coffee and I set to making his favorite granola.  We were running low, and I wanted to be sure he’d have some for this morning’s breakfast (it’s one of my demonstrations of my love for him!).  Soon the house not only looked like home, but also smelled like home – coffee and cinnamon.  My heart smiled again.

As the homemaker, you and I set the atmosphere.  The decor, the organization, the setting is really up to us.  It’s my desire to create a place that is lovely, but also livable.  I want to walk in and say, “Ah, I love it in here” – not because it’s perfect, but because it draws us in with its warmth and comfort.

For today’s Freshen Up Friday, can I encourage you to take a look around and notice areas in your home that need a warming up touch?  For instance:

• Are there comfy pillows on the couch for sitting together and visiting?

• Does the deck or patio need a flower pot or outdoor lights?  How about an outdoor rug for a pop of color and a little table for your iced tea glass?
• Is your bedroom inviting?  Is there a corner that needs de-cluttering?   
• Are there pictures you’ve meant to get hung but are still in the closet?  Why not get them out and ask a friend to help you arrange them so you can spruce up those bare walls?

• Have you baked something special for your family that sends sweet aromas through the house and reminds your family that you love them?

I only hope to inspire you a little to freshen up your home.  We all have a tendency to let things slip, but if we’ll stop and take notice, we can set it right and make home the best place on earth!

Are you a homebody?  Have you been inspired to change anything?

Be refreshed!

A Peek Into My Life this Week

As I mentioned yesterday, we are away attending a conference in California this week  Since we’d never been to this area, we came a couple days ahead of time to see a few sights.  We enjoy getting to travel together, and each part of the trip has been a great event!

Since I’m not at my computer, I’ll share my own pictures next week, but for now I’ll just highlight a few things we’ve gotten to do:

Santa Monica Pier

The Grove – Farmer’s market and shopping area

Drove down Hollywood Blvd

In and Out Burger – Hmmm, I believe they rival Pal’s!

That’s a small list, but we are blessed to be here and not only glean spiritually, but also in fellowship, fun, and strengthening our marriage.  Our God is good all the time and we thank Him for the good gifts of each day.

From my California porch,

We are in the desert this week ~ Lancaster, California to be exact.  I look out my window and see mountains, but they are not the lush, green kind at home in the Smokey Mountains.  They are brown and dry.  Everything looks thirsty in the 100+ degree temperatures.  The rose bushes outside the church we attended Sunday had no mulch surrounding them – only dry, sandy dirt.  They look thirsty.  The flat land sprawling on the sides of the interstate boast only of desert plants like cactus and tumbleweed.  They look thirsty.

We are here attending a conference because we, too, are thirsty.  Oh, we don’t have sand in our shoes or parched lips, but our very souls are longing for a long, cool drink of Living Water from the Word of God.  I am so very thankful that because Christ is our High Priest, and we are each believer priests,  you and I can get fresh water from God’s Word every single day. But there are times that we need a longer, more concentrated time of refreshment.  It’s for that reason that your pastor holds revival meetings, urges you to attend conferences, or camps.  He knows you need to stand and fill up your reservoir! It’s at times like this that we get recharged, encouraged, inspired and challenged. 

Are you taking advantage of times of long refreshment in God’s Word?  If you’re contemplating attending a revival meeting, a conference or camp, think of the desert plants and see yourself just as needy for the Living Water.  Then GO!

“Long drinks” will sustain you during the dry desert days that could be ahead.

Who’s attending a conference, camp or revival this  summer where you’ll be given a fresh drink?  I’d love to hear where you’re going or what you’re doing!

With love,