Caprese Salad to Beat the Summer Heat

Mindy here and we are definitely in the dog days of summer.

104 in the shade. :0

Then again, this is Texas, the Lone Star State. Home of longhorns, wind farms, oil wells... And heat and humidity. Not that any of that can diminish our Texas pride. So I can’t help but give you a glimpse of our new front doors that arrived last week.

Still, when it’s this hot, the last thing I want to do is cook. So we settled for caprese salad instead. I mean when something this good is so easy, not to mention cold, why not?

First, we need some yummy tomatoes. Like this Campari variety.

Very tasty.

 

Chop three or four of those babies and toss them together with some cubed fresh mozzarella.

Fresh mozzarella is the kind that comes in a ball, not a brick. Very soft with a mild flavor.

 

Then we add some chopped basil, a bit of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, and some fresh ground pepper.

Toss it all up and voila!

Heaven in a bowl.

You know, even though I complain about the heat,

there's still plenty to enjoy here at the ranch. Like some creative photography on the pier.

Not to mention another gorgeous sunset.

Yep, when I've got things like this to help me beat the heat, I'd say life at the ranch suits me just fine.

Speaking of ranches, have I mentioned my latest release? This is the first book in my Rocky Mountain Heroes series and, as of today, it’s available on Kindle and other e-book versions, as well as paperback.

Isn't that a great cover?

Now it's your turn.

What's your favorite hot-weather dish?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Lake Time and Oreo Krispy Treats

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here with an easy, tasty recipe that mails well (relevant for all of us with kids at camp). 

 But before we get to that, I have a few pictures of our lake trip. It was sooooo nice to get out of town. And this photo below isn't from the lake. It's from the coast, but I found it and loved it all over again.

 Anybody see 'The Village", about the group living in the nature preserve? :D

 OK, so we enjoyed our local firework festival. Nice and close, eh? Maybe a little too close.

 So, here is a pretty little scene. Canoes are rather evil, aren't they? So hard to get into. So hard to get back to shore. And they sit there looking all innocent-like. No, not bitter at ALL. In other news, I have muscles now.

 Early morning. Not mist, but campfire smoke. It was very close to a fire ban, but we squeaked in right under the wire. We were VERY careful to put out all our fires, but I was so glad to have a fire at night when it dropped to 50F or so.

 The kids' tent. It sleeps 12, which means 4 teens and two small kids, and one little dog. No room for anything else. Across the campsite was a nice little tent for hubby and me. The kids called it the "Love Shack", hahahaha.

 This is the picture of someone who had been swimming and then felt a largish thing brush against their leg.

 Dodger had so much fun chasing EVERYTHING.

 Swimming in a lake really tired you out. It was funny to have small people crashed on blankets. reminded me of the toddler years.

 Early morning coffee and view.

 The kids fished and fished and fished and fished....

 I read and read and read and read...

So, on to the recipe!

My friend Jessica gave me this one and it worked out really well.
one package of Oreos, crushed
one bag of marshmallows
two cups of rice krispies
4 TBS of butter

 Make your rice krispies the usual way (melt butter and marshmallows in a pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, add rice krispies), and then add the oreos. SO GOOD.

That's all for now! I hope everyone is staying cool and be sure to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway for all my book news!

                                                        This super fun anthology is now FREE. 

Join us in the fictional town of Arcadia Valley, Idaho, where a foodie culture and romance grow hand-in-hand.

Six popular and bestselling authors of contemporary Christian romance have teamed up to create an entire world exploring food, friends, and family.

This is not your usual collection of novellas! Each one is set in Arcadia Valley. Each kicks off a three-book series, intertwined with the works of the other authors. This permanent collection is only the beginning of your adventure with us.

Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley includes:

Spring’s Blessing (Seasons of Faith) by Mary Jane Hathaway

Life gets complicated for Charlotte MacGregor when a motherless child and a handsome widower encroach on her carefully laid plans. Will she keep her heart above the fray, or take a leap of faith?

Loaves and Wishes (A Baxter Family Bakery Romance) by Elizabeth Maddrey

Inheriting her friend’s Bed and Breakfast in Idaho is a second chance to succeed, but falling for the farmer next door wasn’t in the plan.

Sheltered Hearts (Romance from the Heart) by Lee Tobin McClain

A curvy jilted bride gets stranded in a snowstorm with a handsome restaurant cook who’s not what he seems to be.

Sow in Love (A Garden Grown Romance) by Valerie Comer

A real estate consultant’s ideas for fulfilling a living trust are shot down by the elderly greenhouse owner’s grandson, but some of the arrows piercing her heart come directly from Cupid’s bow.

The Scent of Romance (Legacy of the Heart) by Danica Favorite

A high-powered lawyer must convince a woman determined to protect her family’s legacy to sell the family farm to his father’s development company, but finds his heart leading him away from everything he’s spent his life trying to accomplish.

A Romance Rekindled (A Homegrown Love Story) by Annalisa Daughety

When former engaged couple, Kate and Drew, find themselves thrown together after more than a decade apart, neither of them are thrilled about it. Can they let go of the past and consider a future together?

Get your copy of Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley today!

Almond milk and mango chiller- perfect for summer!

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here and I'm hiding in the Umatilla National Forest at the moment. Why? Well, look at this heat! My poor little dude in the reflection was trying to be happy about heading to the library for "slime night" but his red and sweaty face convinced me it was time to get out of Dodge! 

But before we did, we made some delicious chillers to cool down... And they were needed because my son was raising money for Scout Camp. 

 That included splitting wood and offering them with fire starters for $3. Great price because the wood was donated to him!

 The same person donated a lot of hen and chicks in flats, saying "if you can sell them, they're all yours". Of course we can! We hit the thrift stores and the cabinets for cute containers...

 I loved this little pail! We have so many craft supplies, we just added cute beads and rocks and such.

 And for the 4th of July, we made red, white, and blue!

 Aren't these cute? Perfect for those BBQ cook outs!
                                  
A friend donated a bunch of leftover wedding supplies. Aren't these cute!

 We sold almost everything we made, and all the firewood. Success! He made his goal for camp, AND enough for hiking boots and some other camping essentials. He mowed lawns for $10 ($5 for elderly, veterans and handicapped) and we met some very lovely people in our small town.
                                      
We did learn not to offer delivery. :) My suburban has a turning radius of 80 feet, it seems, and I tend to hit curbs. Lesson learned!

 OK, on to the recipe! Add two cups of slivered almonds and 4 cups of water in the blender.

 Pour over a tea towel. Let it drain, squeeze if necessary.

 It doesn't look like much, but with a 1.2 tsp of vanilla and some honey...

 Ta-dah! Almond milk with frozen mango slices, a little vanilla and honey to taste. I liked mine with mint. SO refreshing!

Ok, I hope everyone is staying cool! Until next time!

BLUEBERRY EVERYTHING

Hello, everybody!! Mary Jane here. We've recovered somewhat from our bout with the stomach flu. Glad that's over! I hope I haven't spoken too soon because I'm pretty sure we got it twice in a row.
Anyway, it's that time of year again....

 No, not quite yet.

 Still nope.

Still months away...

YES. But that's not where I was headed. 

(We definitely have cherries here.  These bowls are from our trees, and it was only a tiny percentage of what was ready to pick. This is why our neighbors love us- we share!) 

                                        

Closer.... 

 Closer...

 (I just have to gaze at that picture again. What a great memory! We were picnicking on the coast and we brought over blueberries, and my mother brought loganberries, boysenberries, and pink raspberries, and we made a delicious buckle in a cast iron pot over the fire.)

DEFINITELY NOT. But it sure looks good...

YES.

Ohhhh, yes!!

So, in honor of blueberry season, I'm posting a few of my favorite blueberry recipes!

                     
                  

            LEMON BLUEBERRY MUFFINS          

 Preheat oven to 425F
Ingredients:
 4 TBS unsalted butter
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
 grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
 2.5 cups blueberries

 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, stir all sugar but 2 tbs into mix and make a well in the center. Then beat the egg, add the melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla and milk. Beat again until foamy. Pour into the well you just made in the dry mix.

 Mmmmmm.......

 Stir the mix until smooth, then gently fold in all the blueberries.

 Pour into muffin papers until about 3/4 full, bake 12-15 minutes. Take the lemon juice and sugar and mix together, an then brush the tops of the muffins.

 Taaaasty....

 I like my muffins with a little bit of cold butter, so it melts as they come right out of the oven.

I love this picture! They're all so little!! I can't believe that kiddo there in the blue shorts is 3 inches taller than I am now and wears a sz 13 shoe. Gracious!

MINIATURE CINNAMON AND BLUEBERRY PIE
  Usually I try to avoid the whole sugar/fruit/lard crust concotion because it's like cocaine. At least to me.  

How can we have our pie and not eat TOO MUCH OF IT, too??

That is the question.

And here is the answer. Ramekins.

In case any of you are applauding my cleverness, just remember that some people in my family won't eat their pie. That means I get leftovers.

 MORE PIE FOR ME!

Blueberries. Washed. Picked over. Lady bugs released outside.

Uh, oh. I spy a stem. This isn't the end of the world, but I try to get them out. If not, more fiber, right?

For 8 cups of berries, I used 1/4 cup of lime juice. I like lime better than lemon. And add the sugar. I will not say how much I put in. :) Maybe a cup. Or two.

Some people like blueberry-peach, blueberry-apricot, blueberry-raspberry. I like cinnamon in mine. I think it really brings out a deep flavor in the berries. So, for a 4 cup pie, I'd put in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. For this batch of 8 cups I put in 1/2 tsp. Mmmmm....  Smelling delicious already.

Adding the thickener is up to you, since it will be confined to a ramekin. I added corn starch because I actually like the flavor.

Pie crust. From a box, or from the freezer section. Or using CRISCO SHORTENING in the old style recipe!! (I'm scared just reading that, but it will be worth it.) Cut into half inch strips.

Pretty. 

Or an old-fashioned version if you don't have the time or coordination to make tiny lattice work pies the size of your palm.

Waitaminute. Don't I have six million kids (like Mary Curry so aptly put it)? Ah. Here's one of theirs.

I wasn't very sure how much time these would take so I set it for 15 minutes and checked them every so often. Oh, and put them on a cookie sheet. Your oven will thank you. 

Super hot. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT.

You will regret it and your tastebuds will never forgive you. 

Oh, MERCY. Is it cool yet?????

This is my big hot mess of pie, with a few spoonfuls of homemade apricot ice cream on top.

 Yes, it was good.

No, there was none left.

Haha, this is a picture of a  'I got a really sour berry' moment.

The great thing about pie is that you can make it as fancy as you want, or as simple as you want. 

RASPBERRY-BLUEBERRY GREEK YOGURT PARFAIT

This dessert is about as simple as it gets!

The best blueberries for this are the sweet Toros. They don't freeze well. You pick them to enjoy, within hours.

Mix 1/4 cup honey into 1 pint of plain Greek yogurt. Some say it's fine without the honey, but as much as I love Greek yogurt, without a sweetener it tastes like sour cream to me. 

Place about 6 tbs in the bottom of the glass. Add blueberries, then raspberries, then the graham cracker crumbles. Repeat until filled. Add some mint if you like!

BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM SAUCE

Home made blueberry syrup is sweet, potent, addicting.

Three cups of blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup water. 

Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. 

Add 1 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt. 

Let boil (stirring constantly, you do NOT want to burn a pan of blueberries) for ten minutes. 

Dissolve 2 TBS corn starch in 1 TBS hot water. Add to the blueberry mixture and boil for three minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. 

BLUEBERRY MINT LEMONADE

I have to admit, I'd drink this all day instead of water if I didn't have to act like an adult and be sensible! 

Two cups blueberries

3/4 cup lemon juice

half gallon of water

1 cup sugar, or to taste. (Of course, it's always best to heat the sugar and some water on the stove to make a syrup, and then add it. Otherwise all the sugar is at the bottom...)

Mix up the lemonade. Shred three mint leaves and add to the lemonade. Crush the blueberries and add to the mix. Chill overnight or as long as you can wait. ENJOY!!

 Well, I'd better stop here, but can you tell I'm excited for blueberry season? I hope you get to try a few of these recipes. Let me know what you think!

Be sure to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael. And be sure to check out my next release "Autumn's Majesty" right here.