Just having a cold....

Thanks everyone for your nice comments on each of my posts! Sorry I wasn't as active in the blogging world today! writing here or commenting back but I have a cold and it was busy here! But I will hopefully feel better tomorrow! Besides... tomorrow will be a great day! It's our first Coffee Friday! Please send your pictures so you can have your picture published too!!!

Let's all literally share our love for coffee!

Big Hugs!!!

See you tomorrow!

Feeling like spring....

Hello my dear friends! I hope you are relaxed, sitting in front of your computer, hopefully drinking a cup of coffee and ready to enjoy YOUR time.... I am glad you chose this blog as one of your favorite spots to visit! Make yourself comfortable and just forget about everything else....

Let's talk about spring today.... I just got my newest issue of the LIVING magazine (which I love) and it's great to start reading about gardening and all those beautiful SPRING topics! (By the way, is it just me or the magazine is getting thinner and thinner and with more ads in it? .... Just wondering!) What are the plans for your garden this year? Any special or new projects in mind? Hubby and I are thinking about getting rid of a planter we have with rose bushes.... the roses aren't that beautiful anymore (those bushes were here before he bought the house about 5 yrs. ago) and we feel it would be a great spot for a small vegetable garden. I would love to have tons of flowers in the front of the house... I'd like to start a perennial garden too! Annuals are adorable and usually more colorful but there is a Flower Farm where my mother-in-law used to work and they have a great selection of flowers and I've seen some that would be great for us...

I am hoping to have a beautiful garden this year... and I plan on using coffee grounds as fertilizer (and to keep bugs and plant diseases away) ... did you know you could use coffee for your garden? Yes you can, you can find tons of articles on the web about it... and here is a previous post I wrote about it last year: click here

Here is a picture of the area we want to transform into a beautiful and fruitful vegetable garden: (Picture taken last summer)

(As you can see there is the side area which we've previous used to plant some vegetables, but the space is too reduced)

We already got rid of all these - including the ones on the side (there is always one or two tulips trying to come back) here is where I want to plant MANY MANY flowers

It's going to be fun!!! And coffee will be there to help us!!! I hope I will have pictures of the finished project soon!

Whatever your plans are just remember to use coffee!

Broccoli, grapes, brownies and sugar in the raw

I can't believe it's February already! I was a little ahead with the new "look" of my blog but I'd rather be early than late! I hope you have all had a good start of the month!

Now to my topics... Let's start with the Broccoli and grapes! I used them to make a GREAT SALAD! I recently went to a women's event in a church and they had a delicious salad and it included broccoli and grapes! I started looking for recipes that looked "similar" and I found this delicious recipe in Allrecipes.com... I made some slight modifications... so I want to share with you my version of Broccoli Salad Supreme!

What you need: (this is a very big salad... you can make half and it would be more than enough for 4 people)

• 10 cups broccoli florets
• 6 cups seedless red grapes (I used these for my salad too and even I loved it I think I would like it better with less grapes... So I guess 5 cups would be fine!)
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 chopped red onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled (I just sprinkled some of the bacon flavored soy stuff they sell for salads, it was good but I am sure it would've been better with the real stuff)
• 1 1/3 cups walnuts 

In a large salad bowl, combine the broccoli, grapes, celery and onion. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, sugar and vinegar. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, gently stir in bacon and walnuts.


Here are some pictures:

 

I also made brownies last night.... They were ok... Hubby loves brownies.... so we had that with a cup of coffee... which takes me to my next topic.... HUBBY IS SUCH A SWEETHEART! Lately when we go to a coffee shop I've been using "Sugar in the Raw" for my coffee... I just love it! As I've mentioned before, he is "in charge" of coffee here at home.... and he surprised me yesterday when he went to the store and got my "sugar in the Raw" ...

I mean... you might thing it's nothing "huge" but for me it is... I just love how much he pays attention to everything I like or the things I say... He does this all the time! and it's those "little things" that make me love him even more!

Thanks for reading my dear friends! I hope you had a great Monday! Do not forget Friday is almost here and it's all about you and your coffee... so send the pictures! And thanks to Marty for already sending his picture! I loved it! (To know more about Coffee Fridays click here )