This is supposed to be a bat. I think it does not look like one because I have the eyes in the wrong place. I made this for a night I had Carol over for individual themed dinners.
Left Side: Bat – Mashed potatoes with Mexican cheese blend cut with a cookie cutter, Eyes – dried blueberries, cinnamon, 20 Minute Mole Sauce (modified to be mild)
Top Right: Bat – Reese’s peanut butter cup cut with a cookie cutter, peanuts
Bottom Right: Stars – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, blackberries
Left Side: Spiderweb – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Black beans and salsa mixed in a food processor and then piped with a zip lock bag, black beans, salsa
Top Right: Spider – Cheddar cheese rubbed with smoked paprika, roasted green beans
Bottom Right: Spider – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, rubbed with cinnamon, blackberries
Today I am revealing my renovated hallways. I am happy with the end results and am glad it is finally done. The last item was the carpet runner for the stairs.
Window Film: I bought it from Lowes. Elizabeth helped me to install. It was a 2 person job.
Stairs Runner: I bought this from a local store. It was a struggle to find something to match my floor. It actually looks better in-person than in the photo. It is not perfect but at least I have a fresh clean runner that is comfortable to walk on.
Corner Shelves: I can’t find this anymore but my Dad installed them for me shortly after I bought the house. I wanted a location for seasonal decor. I enjoy decorating for the holidays and this location is visible from my kitchen and is outside my bedroom. I have space between the 2 shelves since for Christmas and Easter I put trees on the bottom shelf.
I made mole sauce with mashed potatoes on a night that I also made a themed meal for my friend Carol. Since Carol does not like spicy food, I made a mild version of mole. It was good and added variety to my normal menu of themed food. This was supposed to look like the Big Dipper.
Left Side: Fairy – Polenta cut with a cookie cutter, Eyes – cinnamon attached with a toothpick, Mouth – red food coloring marker, Wand – pretzel stick with Star – cheese cut with a mini cutter, peas
Top Right: Rainbow – Red, yellow, green bell pepper
Bottom Right: Butterflies – Carrot cut with a mini cutter, fresh mozzarella balls
I made this because of my goal this year to explore flavor. It was something different to try but I don’t expect a lot of onion marmalade to be in my future.
Ciabatta
Onion Marmalade – I used red onion, reduced the portion and sugar.
This is my basement storage room. I did not plan to reveal it here but I had several requests from people who knew I worked on it. From July to August, I spent a lot of time working in this room (and complaining). The old carpet was glued to the concrete floor. It was a lot of work to remove the carpet, and adhesive and prepare the floor for painting. My parents helped me at the end of the project to sand and paint the floor.
Floor: Concrete Floor Paint Epoxy in Rio Rust
Switch Plates and Outlet Covers: I decoupaged scrapbook paper onto the covers.
Curtains: I removed the doors and added 2 shower curtains. Because the ceiling is low near the closet, I couldn’t have doors that opened out. It was difficult to access the full closet. Now with the curtains, it is easy to access my holiday decorations stored in this closet.
Wire Shelves: I already had these.
Small Table: Folding table from Target. This table makes it convenient to look through my holiday decorations.
White Cabinet: I had this cabinet in my apartment.
Bottom Right: Acorns – cut flour tortilla with a cookie cutter, place on cookie sheet with parchment, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle caps with paprika and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.
Left Side: Apple Tree – Cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Top of Tree – homemade pesto with dried cranberries, spinach leaves, Trunk – soy sauce brushed on top
Right Side: Diced apple, toasted walnuts, cinnamon, plain Greek yogurt
Today is my Dad’s birthday. Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated my Dad’s birthday at my parent’s Lake House. My brother and sister-in-law celebrated with us. Our celebration included the birthday breakfast he requested (part of my traditional Christmas breakfast) and a multi-course Italian dinner. My brother and sister-in-law made the birthday banner at my request since Amazon lost the one I ordered.
Grandma’s Salad – Iceberg, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt
Garlic Bread – Italian bread with butter and garlic powder, wrapped in foil and baked for 25 minues.
Eggplant and Zucchini Rollatini – We loosely used this recipe but did not use spinach or egg and made a zucchini option. My Mom made the sauce.
4 Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce – I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in the freezer), boiled just before serving, served with my Mom’s homemade tomato sauce. Locatelli cheese garnish. I made 4 cheese filling instead of my normal 2 or 3 cheese to make it special. The family requested that I make 4 cheese all the time now.
Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Butter Sage Sauce – I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, Spinach leaves chopped in a food processor, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in the freezer), boiled just before serving, served with butter melted with fresh sage leaves.
Italian Cheeses, Grapes, Chocolate Covered Figs, Asian Apple-Pear
Mini Cannoli with Chocolate Chips – I bought the mini cannoli shells online, and used this filling but reduced the sugar.
Pignoli Cookies – My Mom made these. I had to tell many people not to eat them before dessert. They kept disappearing.
DINNER
BREAKFAST
When I asked my Dad what food he wanted to celebrate his birthday, he requested my traditional potatoes with dijon dip, and citrus with mint sugar that I make for Christmas. We also served scrambled eggs.
When my paternal Grandma was 94, she said that she wished should could be 80 again. My Dad smiled when I told him what she said. Happy Birthday Dad!
Here is my blue and white themed home library. My parents and I did a lot of work in this room. It took longer to complete than other rooms since I needed to wait for the carpenter to build the shelves (took a year from when I ordered them) and I had to wait for the new French Doors (6 months from when I ordered them). As you can see in the “before” photos, I completed transformed this room. I love it!
Lake Como Art: This is from my maternal Grandparents. I remember it hanging in their homes. My Grandpa bought it in Italy.
End Tables: My maternal grandparents had these in their first apartment. My Mom painted them to coordinate with my home library. I love that they have blue glass.
Lamps: I had these in my apartment. I bought them at Marshalls.
My parents and I had this lunch at their lake house. My Mom made the Tomato Gratin, she based it on this recipe but assembled it on large tomatoes and added mozzarella cheese. They were delicious! We served with mixed nuts and crunchy green grapes.
When my parents were here, one night I made Dirty Martini Pasta. My maternal Grandpa drank martinis so I thought it would be a fun meal to make and explore flavor. I miss him sometimes. I used Lemon Vodka. I added too many green olives but it was nice to make something different. I served it with a simple Caprese Salad of fresh mozzeralla balls, tomato, basil, salt and pepper.
As part of my yearly goal to explore flavor, I made the vegan version of BLT’s. In 2019, I ate coconut, tomato, and lettuce sandwiches at a restaurant. I loved it, especially the coconut bacon. The restaurant where I had the sandwich is no longer open so I finally decided to make my own coconut bacon and serve the sandwiches to my parents when they visited. We all enjoyed!
I have been a vegetarian since I was 2, I don’t know if I ever ate bacon but I have always enjoyed smoky food. As a child my Grandpa let my sister and I pick out candy at the store after church when he bought a newspaper. I always got smoked nuts instead of candy. I often put smoked paprika in recipes. I used Hickory smoke with this coconut bacon but I wonder if I will like any of the other liquid smoke flavors. It is an interesting flavor to explore.
Coconut Bacon (I used Hickory liquid smoke – it is wonderful to keep the coconut bacon in the freezer and use as desired)
Iceberg Lettuce
Wegmans Multi-Grain bread toasted
Tomato Slices
Mayonnaise (I was going to make vegan garlic aioli but I got lazy and knew that my parents like mayonnaise)
This year for my birthday I decided to host a dessert party with my parents and friends. 6 of us were available to gather for the occasion. I enjoyed making 4 different individual desserts. I expect that there will be more dessert parties in my future. They are easier to host than a tea or dinner party. The food was mostly make ahead. We all enjoyed this fun, attractive, and delicious party!
I made this lunch for my Mom when at my parents Lake House. We enjoy watching the many hummingbirds that use the feeders and flowers on the front deck.
Left Side: Tornado – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Black beans and salsa mixed in a food processor and then piped with a zip lock bag, green peas
When I asked my friend Yuko what theme lunch she wanted she said, “Summer Festival“. I represented goldfish, fireworks, and the characters for “Summer Festival”.
Container: Cloud box from Japan (set of 3)
Top Box: NatsuMatsuri – Summer Festival – carrots cut with a Hiragana cookie cutter, peanut butter, celery, peanuts, Goldfish – grape tomatoes, cheese cut with a straw, food coloring marker detail
Bottom Box: Fireworks – Nishiki rice pressed in a round rice mold, soy sauce, spinach slightly wilted a few seconds in the microwave, cheese and food coloring marker details, blueberries, romaine
After spending the weekend at the Lake House with Yuko and Takeshi, I was happy to host them overnight at my house. I made us a simple make ahead ravioli dinner. Of course I wanted to make it cute. Yuko likes dogs, so I made a dog themed meal.
Dog Ravioli: I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in my freezer 2 weeks ahead), boiled just before serving, served with homemade tomato sauce I made and put in my freezer.
Roasted Broccoli: Broccoli florets with a little salt and olive oil, roasted at 400 for 25 minutes.
Chocolate Dog Cookie: I used this recipe and baked the cookies 2 weeks ahead and put in my freezer.
Top: Train – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, salsa, black beans and salsa (blended in a food processor), Cheddar cheese, Easy Edamame Salad (I didn’t use the snap peas, scallion, or sesame seeds)
Left Side: Train Track – melted chocolate piped from a zip lock bag over apple, blackberries
Right Side: Rail Road Crossing Sign – Cheese with food marker details, peanuts
Left Side: Elephants – Havarti Dill with smoked paprika details, bell pepper, blue potato cut with a cookie cutter, roasted, zucchini cut with a cookie cutter, hummus
Top Right: Macadamia nuts
Bottom Right: Elephant – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, cinnamon details, blackberries
I made this themed vegetable potato salad meal for Carol. She enjoyed it! I think this is my first time to make flies out of food. The idea to make flies to accompany the frogs came from my 21 year old niece.
Left Side: Frogs – Havarti Dill with smoked paprika details, bell pepper, white potato cut with a cookie cutter, sprinkle with basil and roasted, zucchini cut with a cookie cutter, hummus
Top Right: Flies – raisins with sliced almonds, one is on a strand of spaghetti to make it fly, Macadamia nuts
Bottom Right: Frog – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, cinnamon details, blackberries
Today is my 12th anniversary of having this blog. I made this meal for myself. In my yearly goals for 2023, I have two blog related items: explore flavor and create more themed sides. This meal does not explore flavor but it has 3 themed items!
Contents: Dragonfly – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, homemade pesto, blueberries, black beans with salsa, Flowers – carrot cut with a cookie cutter
Here is my Floral Themed Guest Room (2nd Floor). The main projects were hanging floral wall paper stickers and wooden tissue boxes. This is one of the few rooms in the house where I did not paint the walls or change the flooring.
Small Table: This was in my Mom’s childhood bedroom. She remembers it was old when she got it. It had a skirt around it when she was a kid. My Mom painted it for my guest room.
Chair: The former owners left it with the house.
Folding Tray Table: I had this for a long time.
Floral Wall Paper Stickers: No longer available where I bought it but this is similar. Elizabeth helped me install them. They were relatively easy to attach.
My parents and I celebrated my niece’s 21st birthday a little late with her this year. It was special to be able to celebrate her birthday at the Lake House.
Decorations: My mom and I had various decorations. We had fun assembling them.
Flower Napkin Rings
Tablecloth and Napkins: Floral
Paper Centerpiece: I found a unicorn centerpiece at the Dollar Tree. I removed the unicorn and made my own round out of cardboard, paper, and stickers. I attached my round to the honeycomb paper round.
Menu:
Garlic Bread – Wegmans Pane Italian with Irish butter, garlic powder, and parsley
Mushroom Bourguignon (see recipe below)
Broccoli and Rainbow Carrots Bourguignon (for me since I don’t eat mushrooms)
Funfetti and Chocolate Ice Cream Cake with Whipped Cream and Thin Oreo Cookies
Mushroom Bourguignon
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 pounds mushrooms
1 1/2 cups rainbow carrot chunks
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
Brown mushrooms in olive oil in 2-3 batches, remove from pot.
Add butter to pot and melt, once melted add the flour and whisk.
Add wine, stock, tomato paste, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Simmer until sauce thickens a little.
Add mushrooms and rainbow carrots back into the sauce. Simmer for 30 minutes.
My parents, 21 year old niece, and I celebrated the 4th of July at the Lake House.
Drinks: Assorted drinks with maraschino cherries
Red, White and Blue Salad: Romaine, Cherries, Blueberries, Cheddar stars cut with a cookie cutter, assorted dressings
Fireworks Pizza: Homemade pizza dough cut with a Firework cookie cutter that Renae made on her 3D printer, tomato sauce, mozzarella, tomato sauce drops after baking to represent fireworks. I planned to also make pesto drops but I forgot my homemade pesto at my house.
Star Pizza: Homemade pizza dough cut with a star cookie cutter, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese
Flag Pizza: Homemade pizza dough cut with a flag cookie cutter, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce stripes after baking
Left Side: Flags – Tortilla chips cut with a cookie cutter, brushed with olive oil, brushed with Butterfly Pea Powder, Paprika – bake in 375 over for about 10 minutes, hummus, cherry tomatoes, radish, cauliflower
Top Right: Cashews
Bottom Right: Stars – Strawberries cut with a cookie cutter, blueberries
Deborah and I went on an adventure to Griffis Sculpture Park in East Otto, NY (it is about 2 hours away). It was a beautiful day to walk around and explore. This was my second time to the park, I went with my oldest niece in 2008.
My quest is over! I updated all of the switch and outlet covers in my house. I am not accustomed to living in a house with plain outlet plate covers. I am used to decorative ones that serve as art. My childhood bedroom had a ceramic light switch cover with pink roses. The last house I lived in had special covers probably installed by the previous owners. When I bought this house all were plain almond color. It took me over a year but I changed all of them! Some I bought and some I made. To celebrate I made myself a light switch cover themed meal.
Below is a collage of many of my fancy outlet and switch plate covers. Some of the rooms are not on my blog yet because I am waiting for something to be finished. I probably have to wait months until the French Doors for my library arrive. Go here to see my home decoration posts.
I made this for Renae’s oldest who is graduating from High School. This is only my 3rd time to make a Graduation themed bento. I previously made this and this. It was requested that I make this for Natalie and I was happy to do it.
Left Side: Diploma bread, Cheddar cheese, blueberries
Top Right: 2023 – Carrot cut with a cookie cutter, cucumber
Bottom Right: Graduation Hat – Caramel milk chocolate square and mini peanut butter cup, attached with some chocolate and chocolate detail on top, almonds
Eclectic Lamb 
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