I CAN TELL SOME PRETTY OUTLANDISH STORIES, ALL OF THEM ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I AM JUST ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT REALLY HAS DONE AND SEEN ALOT. I AM A WEIRDO MAGNET AND STRANGE THINGS OFTEN HAPPEN IN MY PRESENCE. SO WHEN I WAS TELLING MY FRIENDS ABOUT A MIDGET STRIPPER ON A MOTORCYCLE, THEY ALL THOUGHT I WAS KIDDING. I FINALLY FOUND VIDEO PROOF!!!! SEE THE VIDEO BELOW...IN YOUR FACE BIRKLEBOCH..LOL

Selene Luna

Preview of Dita's Opium Den Show

DITA

DITA MARTINI GLASS

DITA COW GIRL

DIRTY MARTINI

ROMEO

DITA OPIUM DEN

I went to the House of Blues with some friends to see Dita Von Teese. Her show Strip Strip Hooray!! was exquisite. The costumes were the most lavish I have ever seen. She was tasteful and elegant in each of her performances. I am so glad I went. I have been a fan of hers for awhile now. She is always dressed to perfection, she has glamour , Charm, Mystery. What she does is an art form. She has a creative intellect I don't think people give her enough credit for. To be able to design the costumes and sets as she does is pure genius. She is definitely a worthy Icon.

Dita Von Teese Interview

I LOVE THIS STORY--

A man and his dog were walking along a road.

The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years.

He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble.

At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?' 'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.

'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.'Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.'The man gestured, and the gate began to open. 'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.

'The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.

There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. 'Excuse me!' he called to the man.

'Do you have any water?''Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.

''How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.'There should be a bowl by the pump,' said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked. 'This is Heaven,' he answered.

'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said.'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.''Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell.''Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?

''No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

SUMMER SUNDAY

FLOWERS I PICKED FROM MY GARDEN THIS MORNING.

KATHY'S CUCUZZA RECIPE

KATHY'S CUCUZZA RECIPE

1lb loose Italian Sausage (cooked & reserved)
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp sea salt20 oz. Cucuzza, 1 Medium Squash or part of a larger one, peeled with a carrot peeler and cut into 3/4-inch cubes1 Lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped (& a 14-oz. can of chopped tomatoes, including juice)2 Baking potatoes, peeled,then cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4-6 carrots (peeled chopped rustica)
3 ribs celery
6 banana peppers
2 bell peppers
1 onion diced1/2 Cup chopped Italian parsley 8-10 snipped fresh basil leaves
1-2 branches Oregano
1-2 branches Rosemary
1-2 branches Thyme
1 can vegetable broth

Cook Sausage and Reserve
saute veggies in olive oil, when they start to get tender, add sausage and canned tomatoes with juice and broth to cover. Simmer on med heat 1.5-2 hrs


garnish
with Grated Romano Cheese

Serve
with Italian Bread

CUCUZZA/ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE

CUCUZZA/GOOGOOTS
ZUCCHINI BREAD
　
3 EGGS
1 1/4 C. OIL
1 1/2C SUGAR
1 TSP VANILLA
2 C. DICED ZUCCHINI/OR CUCUZZA
2C. FLOUR
2 TSP BAKING SODA
2 TSP BAKING POWDER
1 TSP SALT
1 TSP CINNAMON
1 TSP CLOVES
1 C. NUTS (PECANS CHOPPED)

1 C. RAISINS 　
　
BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 1 HR 15 MINUTES　
　
**COOKS NOTES: YOU MAY USE BISQUCK INSTEAD OF FLOUR AND OMIT BAKING SODA AND POWDER. ALSO I ADDED A TSP EACH OF ALLSPICE AND GINGER.

**I also doubled the recipe for it to make 5 loaves**

SAVING A CAT IN DISTRESS

On the way to work I saw a cat on a fence post with a cheeto bag (small snack size bag) on his head he was suffocating . I pulled over, climbed the fence in dress to rescue him but,He jumped down startled into a horse pen.

I couldn't get to him thru the barbed wire. So I climbed back over the fence and I drove to the ranch house to get help. A cowboy named Saldovar came and rescued the cat. He got scratched up pretty bad, but cheers to him for saving a life today.

The poor cats head was soaking wet from saliva and respiration. He took off like a shot and ran into the hen house, so I believe he will be ok. I never got to check him up close after the event.

That's the first time I ever saw something like that. I don't throw trash out of the window. All the Public Service Announcements I heard as a child about "Don't Mess with Texas" regarding not littering our Streets. Highways and By-ways sunk in with me. Now I have seen first hand the ill effects litter has on nature. It really affected me. Had I not come along and saw him, the kitty would have died.

I did rip my panties and my dress getting over the fence, I threw out my back, and I have a good bruise on my bottom. I definitely get my love of animals from my mom .

SIMPLY SUNDAY ZINNIAS FROM MY GARDEN

CUCUZZA/GOOGOOTS

Cucuzza

The cucuzza (pronounced ko-KOO-tza or, for slang, goo-GOOTZ)

I love heirloom vegetables. I also love getting in touch with my Italian ancestry.

The Cucuzza is from the gourd family but is used as a squash. I have only had this once at a San Giovanni potluck and old man everyone called Uncle Joe grew them and prepared them he called them googoots . His recipe was like this one from cucuzzasquash.com

To Stew:
Peel approximately

2 pounds of Cucuzza squash and dice into 1/2 inch cubes.

In oiled skillet , combine small chopped onions,

1 clove chopped garlic, sauté 2 minutes.

Add 15 ounces of can stewed tomatoes and summer 4 minutes.

Add Cucuzza squash and cook till tender.

(approximately 30 min.).

Season to taste.

Serve plain over thin spaghetti.

Tastes great with meat too!

Courtesy of :
http://almostitalian.com/the-cucuzza-chronicles/

I saw this photo on the above website. What a fabulous picture. He looks like the Italian Uncle everyone wished they had. I had no idea that cucuzza
was grown on a trellis as shown. He definitely took great pride in gardening and growing his prized cucuzza.




Minestra di Cucuzza e Tenerumi
Far greater than the sum of its parts, this uncomplicated and refreshing dish comes together very quickly.
Minestra di Cucuzza e Tenerumi
Courtesy of:
Copyright © 2010, Skip Lombardi
Ingredients:
4 oz. pasta corta (tubettini, ditali, or other short, tubular pasta)
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. peperoncini ( more to taste)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tenerumi, each about 10” long (optional)
20 oz. Cucuzza,
1 small fruit or part of a larger one, peeled
with a carrot peeler and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 Lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
(or a 14-oz. can of chopped tomatoes, including juice)
8 oz. new red potatoes, previously boiled in their skins,
then cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 Cup chopped Italian parsley
or 8-10 snipped fresh basil leaves
Salt to taste
Fruity olive oil to finish
4 Tbsp. Freshly grated pecorino, Romano,
or other Italian grating cheese
(Aged caciocavallo might be a Sicilian choice.)
Notes:
–Variations of this dish appear throughout Sicily and in the kitchens of Sicilian immigrants. Potatoes seem to be an American addition.
–Many cooks simply add the dry pasta and 1-2 cups of water to the pan along with the cucuzza and tomatoes, resulting in a dish with less-defined textures. We prefer a little crispness to our cucuzza and are sticklers for pasta al dente, hence the sequence we present here.
Preparation:
Boil the pasta in salted water for 3-4 minutes; it will be less than al dente.Drain the pasta and set it aside. Reserve 2-3 cups of the starchy pasta water.
In a large pan at least 2 inches deep, sauté the garlic, peperoncini, and black pepper in olive oil. Add the cubes of cucuzza and sauté on medium heat for 7-10 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
Meanwhile, if you are using them, wash and chop the tenerumi stems and leaves into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the tenerumi and the red-skin potato cubes to the cucuzza. Sauté for 2 minutes or until the greens are wilted. Add the tomatoes and any collected juice. Simmer for 3 minutes and add the undercooked pasta and a few ladlefuls of the pasta cooking-water, depending on how “soupy” you would like your dish.
Gently stir to combine and simmer for a minute or two, then turn off the burner. The pasta will continue to cook in the residual heat. Taste for salt.
Stir in the chopped herbs and ladle the minestra into shallow bowls. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over each serving and sprinkle on just a little grated cheese (Don’t overdo the cheese—the subtle, sweet flavor of the cucuzza should predominate.)
Enjoy hot or lukewarm, accompanied by good bread.
Serves four.
********
This is another wonderful and interesting recipe
I came across in my search for cucuzza recipes.
Chocolate Cucuzza Cake
CAKE
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups shredded cucuzza (Seen note below)
FROSTING
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup milk
Change Measurements: US Metric
Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Preheat oven to 325°F.
2 In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, oil and sugar, creaming until smooth.
3 Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
4 Add vanilla and beat well.
5 In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves.
6 Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternately with buttermilk.
7 Stir in shredded cucuzza.
8 Pour batter into a greased 13X9-inch baking pan.
9 Bake for 45-50 minutes until done. You can test to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick near the center of the cake and see if it comes out clean. If it does, it's done.
10 Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
11 Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients.
12 Spread over warm cake.
13 Broil in oven approximately 4-6 inches from the heat for about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn, it will broil fast!
14 Cool cake completely before serving.
15 ~NOTE~ You don't have to peel or seed the cucuzza, just wash the outside skin with warm water and pat dry before shredding.
Courtesy of: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-cucuzza-cake-245186#ixzz1SPpjBbfn

Louis Prima - My Cucuzza

GARDEN CAT COTTAGE TURTLE POND

GARDEN CAT COTTAGE THAI URN WATER GARDEN WITH GOLDFISH

CUTE TURTLE STORY- ROY THATS A SNAPPER

I was telling my neighbor Roy about my new turtle.

So he told me a funny story that happened 30 years ago

when his grown children were little.

He said his son was crazy about turtles and they were driving to go to Grandma's when on this old road they come across a turtle. His son starts yelling Dad, its a turtle. I want him. So old Roy pulls over and picks this turtle up and puts him in the back with the kids. His son is so happy he has a turtle.

Well a little ways down the road the turtle starts acting pretty aggressive. Kids, The wife and Grannie start screaming, so Roy does one of those pulling over real quick maneuvers and every one bails out of the car. The turtle is hissing and snapping.

So Roy gets a big stick he said it was about 2 inches thick and he starts prodding the turtle out of the car by this bait shop. He said the turtle bit that stick in half. So that taught Roy not to pick up hitchhiking Terpins.

No turtles were harmed in the telling of this story....

GARDEN CAT COTTAGE TURTLE

What pretty color contrast stripes she has.

Her belly is yellow.

What a lovely arrowhead design down the middle.

The entire pattern looks like an Egyptian scarab.

With her large size its estimated she is about 5-6 years old

Today I was driving with one of my clients and I thought I saw a turtle on the side of the road. I asked if he minded if we turned around so I could check it out. Sure enough it was a turtle. I picked it up and put it in the back seat of the car.
The turtle is pretty good size I'd say 12 inches long 10 inches wide. I sent pictures to a site I saw online and within 45 mins. I got a response:

That's a female Red-eared Slider.

Tim Cole(512) 83-SNAKE

www.austinherpsociety.org

www.AustinReptileExpo.com/www.AustinReptileService.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>
She is in my backyard and tomorrow I will try and find a water receptacle appropriate for her. I have always wanted a turtle for the garden. I hope the garden and this type of turtle
are compatible. I am going to do my very best to give her a happy and healthy habitat

I just have to find a name for her now.

MY UNCLE PORTER

My Uncle Porter is 5 ft tall and 5 ft round, bald and has a glint in his pretty blue eyes like an evil Santa Claus. He used to get that Dr. Leonards catalog all the time. Well he ordered something called stump juice (for rotting out old tree stumps) anyway our housekeeper took his catalog and ordered several of those long line granny bra's, ...somehow they shipped her bras to him. I happened to walk into the office when he was on the phone having a hissy fit saying I am a man I don't wear bras, where is my stump juice. Had anyone who didn't know the background story walked in they would have thought it was an obscene phone call...lol

William S. Cherry Katherine, that's one of the great stories of all times! And I have the God given authority to say that since I've written at least a 1000 of them mself. Thanks for sharing it with me/us.


Ruth Lacquement Katherine, Bill Cherry is right! That's a great story and you told it so well...SO funny!

Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs

Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs
Serves 6

Ingredients
12 fresh figs1/4 lb.

Gorgonzola dolce

10 slices prosciutto di Parma, cut into thirds

24 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least two hours

2 Tbs. aged balsamic vinegar
Directions
Preheat grill to high (gas) or until coals are glowing (charcoal).

Cut stems off figs and slice in half lengthwise.

Place dollop of Gorgonzola in center of each fig half.

Wrap prosciutto around figs and cheese and secure with bamboo skewers.

Grill for about 30 seconds, then turn and grill for additional 30 seconds. To serve, arrange on platter and drizzle with aged balsamic vinegar.

http://www.charlestonmag.com

***********

COOKS NOTES:

My ex husband used to say I could'nt follow a recipe to save my life. I always put my own little spin on things.

Here I am using :

Chevre Goat Cheese spiked with a little bit of rosemary from the garden

I also made a dipping sauce

6 Tb Honey

3-4 Tb Balsamic

Fresh Rosemary

Lemon Zest

I also used a Rosemary Sprig as a brush to apply sauce to figs

When Grilling figs I actually used tooth picks and placed them in my Jalapeno roasting grill rack shaped like to Great State of Texas.

Kathy's Fire-Roasted Gazpacho Recipe

Kathy's Fire-Roasted Gazpacho

Ingredients:
4 C Roma tomatoes, Roasted

1 green bell pepper (Roasted)

or Garden peppers such as Banana Peppers(Roasted)

1 jalapeno (Roasted) seeded and ribbed

1 onion (Roasted) halved

1 zuchinni (quartered and roasted)

1 yellow squash (sliced and roasted)

3 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

1 bunch cilantro

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce or to taste

2 tsp. cumin powder

1 head garlic (Roasted)

1 tsp Tony Chacheres spice blend

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, ground to taste

Directions:
* Over a charcoal grill ( For the smoky flavor) but you can use a gas grill. Roast the tomatoes, peppers , onion, and in a wad of tin foil add olive oil and un peeled garlic cloves and roast with other ingredients. Tomatoes and peppers should split and the skins become black and charred. You can dispose of half the charred skin as you like, it depends on how much of that flavor your taste buds enjoy.

As for the garlic, squeeze out the soft roasted garlic from the skins and throw skins away.

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve chilled, the colder the better.

Garnishing/Serving
I serve this in shot glasses with a boiled jumbo shrimp, lemon twist, avocado slice skewered on the rim. I also like to add a dab of blue cheese crumbles on top and french or herbed bread as an accompaniment

Don't just go through life, Grow through life.

--Eric Butterworth

GRANDMA ARRIVES WITH BIRTHDAY GIFTS

Beaujo opening her Birthday Gifts from Grandma
Grandma and Sally helping

Grandma Showing Beaujo her new toys and treats

Beaujo taking each new toy and running and hiding it on her bed

******

Grandma is top notch, she even brought an entire roasted chicken for the birthday dinner.

Thank You Grandma!

Love,

Beaujo

BIRTHDAY CAKE SNO CONES FOR MY BABY

My baby turns 4 years old tomorrow. I have to work late so I wont be able to give her the celebration I normally do. I will still stop off and get her a Chicken fried Steak dinner from Kelley's and I will sing her Happy little songs that I make up just for her. Anyway its been very hot here so I loaded the girls up took them to TNT Sno Cones and got both of them and myself Birthday Cake flavored sno cones to begin our celebration. Grandma is on her way over to bring her Granddog a birthday present. I definitely get my love of animals from my Mom.

APRON APPRECIATION

This is a collection of my favorite aprons

I have just as many that are well worn

and folded up in the sideboard that are like

old friends I can't bear to part with.

A few of my favorite aprons from CarolynsKitchenOnline.com

I love that they come with matching

gloves and garters

My baby who will be 4 years old tomorrow loves

Mama's Aprons too as it means I am going to cook up

something good that she will be partaking in.

*******

My earliest memories of aprons were of my Italian Aunts and their friends baking cookies and making the gravy for the St.Joseph's Altar which is a huge deal in my family. They would begin baking 6 weeks before and store the cookies in large metal tins that potato chips used to come in way back in the day. Each layer of cookies separated by waxed paper and carefully arranged. Housecoats and aprons were the uniform of the day.

Years later my Step Grandmother made Christmas aprons for all the grandchildren. I was newly married and broke it out only on special occasions.

When I started my bakery business in Guam in 1992, I tied one on for the first time professionally. That seems like a life time ago.

In 2006 on Good Morning America's Sunday Morning , I watched an interview about :

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort by
EllynAnne Geisel (Author)

I had fond remembrances of old aprons but never gave it much more thought than that. After seeing that interview and subsequently buying all her books. I had kindled a nostalgia for aprons. I brought mine out and began wearing them and adding to my collection. I have aprons from several countries. My husband and I hosted a French Student one summer and his mother sent me a lovely book and apron from the Basque Region between Spain and France where they lived. That has to be the most perfect gift I have ever received.

Today I will put on one of my aprons clean my house, pick tomatoes and peppers from my garden, Bake a Tomato and Spinach tart, and take a moment to reflect fondly on all the women in aprons who have touched my life.

TIFFIN BOX

Tiffin Box

Tiffin is lunch, or any light meal. It originated in British India, and is today found primarily in Indian English. The word originated when Indian custom superseded the British practice of an afternoon dinner, leading to a new word for the afternoon meal. When used for "lunch", it is not necessarily a light meal. In South India and in Nepal, the term is generally used for between-meals snacks. Outside South India, like Mumbai, the word mostly refers to any packed lunch, often light lunches prepared for working Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, or for schoolchildren by their parents. It is often forwarded to them by dabbawalas, sometimes known as tiffin wallahs, who use a complex system to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations. Tiffin often consists of rice, dal, curry, vegetables, chapathis or "spicy meats".

*******

I have always been mildly eccentric. Most creative people are. Sometimes I see things that I have absolutely no use for, but they speak to me and I must make the object part of my collection. The Tiffin box is just such an object. When I lived overseas, I was introduced to the Japanese Bento Box, the Tiffin is the Indian equivalent . Many of my whims I have incorporated into daily life, many others I really should. I believe everyone wants to live the beautiful life but real life often gets in the way. I am making a conscience decision to try and live the beautiful life everyday from this day forward.

I ordered 3 Sky Lanterns. I had wanted to send one aloft for the 4th of July but alas it arrived to late. So At my next cocktail party I plan to send these beautiful lanterns to the heavens as a close to the evening. I think it will be memorable.

This is my latest Sarong it just came in today from
Phi Phi Island, Thailand

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak,

but their echoes are truly endless."

Mother Teresa

Kasetsart University

Bangkok,Thailand

I recieved a Thai Food to the world

Culinary Arts Certificate

July 4,2011