This Is NOT A Food Blog

I do not like to cook often at all. I much prefer going out to eat but we only go out twice a week for dinner and at least once a week for lunch. But I am a terrific cook. I can say this with modesty because I'm not much good at anything else, except listening to friends problems and listening well and giving good advice.

Anyway, this is definitely not a food blog. But a recipe I've developed myself and recently taken in to friends in our ward who are sick and have absolutely raved about it. To me it's just a simple recipe for my favorite food pasta but I'm going to share the recipe.

I fly by the seat of my pants usually in creating a new recipe. I'm also picky, picky, picky about food. I use the best ingredients and do NOT economize on essentials. I believe this makes a world of difference in taste.

Pasta Primavera, which translates to Pasta Spring, meaning fresh vegetables. I love pasta. I use rigate penne for this dish.

For two people:

If you want chicken in it, take one chicken breast, sprinkle it with black pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning and roast it in the oven just until it starts to darken in its juices. That will be the best time to pull it out. It will have a sweet roasted flavor. I may sometimes spread a tiny bit of butter over it but there's no need. Let it cool before cutting it into small bite-size pieces. Then set it aside while preparing the other stuff. I have never, ever boiled a chicken. I can't imagine doing it because of the gross smell. I've always roasted chicken breasts in the oven with Mrs. Dash, which makes all the difference in the world for a piece of chicken breast.

2 cups of penne pasta, salted lightly in pan. Cook until al dente. Set aside for a few minutes.

Topping:
Sliced red onion
Sliced yellow bell pepper
I toss in some California veggies—broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, just one or two handfuls
Chicken you've set aside
Fresh cut up tomato, one roma does it for 2 or 4 people
Peas, a handful of frozen

I throw all the stuff for the topping in a sautè pan with 1/2 stick of butter or more if needed.

This is what the vegetables will look like sautèing in butter.

Closer view. See how some are browning a bit. Just be careful not to burn. Keep tossing until the vegetables carmalize in the butter. This makes a tremendous difference.

And what they look like when ready to serve. Now you'll take the penne pasta and drain it, put it in a pan adding one whole cube of butter, some heavy whipping cream and Parmesan cheese. I don't measure anything because as you start adding the whipping cream and stir it in you'll see how it looks. Just enough to cover the pasta but enough to not let it be dry. Put some on plates and then spoon the sauteed vegetables/chicken, if you want chicken, over each plate of pasta and serve. It's a wonderful meal and so incredibly simple. I can throw it together in 15-20 minutes. Friends and family will love it and it quite impressive to see on a plate. French bread if you want also. Just remember to saute in the butter to carmalize the vegetables and they just start turning brown. The sweeter they'll be, I promise.

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Isn't this a beautiful shot of the sky through a beautiful umbrella?

This is gorgeous! I really do like stripes.

A pretty bracelet.

Squeeeeal!!! How tiny can things get? Adorable!

A caravan or camper with all the accoutrements needed. Well, except for maybe a chef to cook all the meals. ;-)

Loved this photo of the table setting.

I have no idea where this is or even WHAT it is but it looks like some sort of living quarters.

Adorable entry. This is one I'd like to have.

We took some old windows out of a storage shed we had once and I saved them. Imagine my surprise when Love Bunny burned them in a wood pile! I was NOT happy, trust me.

A beautiful shot of a sky, castle and private beach.

Gorgeous vine/climbing roses.

One of my top favorite flowers.

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Useless Information:
First year sales of famous products, proving you shouldn't give up if you've come up with an idea:
VW Beetle: 330
Wite-Out: 1,200 bottles
Cuisinart food processor: 8
Remington typewriter: 8
Scrabble: 532
Coca-Cola: 25 bottles
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A New Clothing Trend?

Sittin' around again just thinking. This is starting to become a habit. I probably need to spend more time doing something other than reading, which usually gets me thinking more than usual.

Anyway, I was searching the internet for beautiful gowns to post on my Pinterest. What in the world is the fashion industry doing to clothing?! I saw high-end clothing that was sheer enough to be almost invisible. Beautiful suits, dresses, gowns, blouses, etc. All showing the full glory of a woman's body. I could not believe it! No sane upscale woman would wear something like that and certainly no woman over the age of 35 without a boob job. And please pardon me for being so frank, but it's getting ridiculous. Okay, okay, maybe the Hollywood-types...no, wait a moment, they definitely would wear that type of clothing. But I just cannot see making clothing so sheer your underwear shows. And, yes, that is the case in a lot of those designs. No professional business woman would wear what the designers are coming out with today. I think they're doing it to shock women. No husband would want his wife wearing something like they're designing. I'm sorry but I'm not going to post any of those dresses, blouses or gowns on here. If you want to see some, you'll have to find them yourself.

Then—and this is the most bizarre thing—they're designing clothing for the head. Yes, they're making sure they're following the politically correct designs for the countries that want their women's heads covered. Some look like anyone wearing it would be smothering. Is this what designers really think women want? Are they catering to some other country's idea of what women should wear? Puhhhleeeze, cut this out; it's disgusting. Some of the "headwear" even had the look of an iron mask. Some were so disgusting to even be mentioned here. What is this world coming to? Enough!
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Another mosaic I made. I loooove eye candy, don't you?

Cute entry way.

Gauze curtains surrounding a patio area.

Pale green and pink roses.

This looks like a delightful store!

Pretty packaged gifts.

Another pretty living room.

Chocolate dipped Rice Krispie bars. Yuuuummmm...

Bejeweled fabric.

Prettily painted chest of drawers.

A dining room in an attic. How lovely and clever.

Beautiful dining area.

Cute idea.

Just flowers.

Lovely wicker basket packed with pretties.

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Tidbits:
English-speaking kids read more novels and fewer comics than kids of other language groups.
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Guess What I Found Recently!

For about a year I've been looking for some different dining chairs.

We bought our solid oak table in the early 80s in California. It is 42" square claw feet legs but has 2 leaves with it. We got six chairs and the table for $1,400 at that time which would be several hundred dollars more at today's prices. It is solid oak with a brown stain, which I've grown very tired of and want to paint. The problem is I don't want to do the grunge work of sanding. I've done that and refuse to do it again. That's a tough job.

The chairs that came with it were more a country look, which suited me at the time; they don't anymore and I've covered them with slipcovers I made several years ago. I wanted a new look.

So I went on a quest to find some french chairs. I do like that look. I did an internet search every couple of months to see what was available but nothing I liked or wanted to pay a high price for.  Then, lo and behold, while checking Craigslist recently I came across a table, 6 chairs, a beautiful hutch and an Aubusson rug. I didn't want all of those things and really didn't want to spend a lot of money. So I emailed the seller and we agreed upon a price for 2 chairs. I didn't want her arm chairs and 2 chairs needed the cane seats fixed. So we made an appointment to see the chairs.

Have you ever actually been inside a gated community of million dollar homes? I never had. I've been in some exquisite homes but nothing like this neighborhood in Eagle, an upscale suburb of Boise. When we moved to Idaho in the 90s we could have gotten a new home there for $159,000. Not any more. These homes were definitely upscale. Beautiful inside also.

Anyway, the woman and her hubby were gracious and we bought the 2 chairs pictured below. She buys and resells furniture and these she got at a store in Palm Springs, California, with which I'm familiar. These are very good chairs. I'm thrilled to have them and at a price that was extremely good because at Ethan Allen, my favorite furniture store along with Thomasville, I would have started at about $700+ for upholstery of my choice for similar chairs. I am very pleased with my chairs. It gives a totally different look to the dining room.

The two chairs.

Design on chairs.

Cane seats and backs.

Nice and tight.

The backs.

Gorgeous legs with bracings, which shows it's sturdy.

Just a lovely silhouette with the curved legs.

This is what I'll be making for the two I bought.

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Don't you just love this bright pink fence?!

Sweet pink vignette with peonies.

Some old ephemera.

A beautiful shuttered home with an English garden.

The way I like froufrou!!!

Now this is my kind of hammock. Slather it with fluffy ruffled duvets, pillows and cushions. Ummm-hmmm.

I've seen 2 cookies lately that are the most gorgeous ever. This is one set. I'll show the other later with another post.

An antique sign, pink table, pink upholstered vintage chair, pink cushions and a flowered lamp. My kind of decoration for a living room.

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Tidbit:
Oprah Winfrey sleeps on Frette bedsheets, which boast a very high thread count and sell for thousands of dollars a set. They are exceptional sheets. Looking at the website recently, I could have gotten a set marked down to $1,372.00 from $2,745.00 and that's just plain white 100% Egyptian cotton. It does have delicate lace around the top sheet and the pillow has an edging of lace and an inset of lace. Made in Italy. Oh, I guess you know by now I won't be purchasing them any time soon, right? ;-)
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Social Media...Again!

Okay, another great grandma brag here. (Remember, it's my blog and I can do this any time I want!) ;-) This is Miss Juliette as of just a few days ago. She's now a few months old. Her sister just loves her a lot. When she went to her daycare to visit with her friends, she called out, "Everybody, this is my Juliette!" She's a very proud and loving big sister. Juliette loves to be held and is a very sweet baby, sleeping through the night already. She's also a very happy little girl.

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The kids are after me again to...well, let me tell you—upgrade my cell phone. If you know me or have read my blog for any amount of time, you know my feelings on social media; I hate it. I have a Facebook account under an fictitious name to see my grandkids and great grandkids. I don't twitter, although, I tried it for a couple of days and then deleted it. Why would anyone want to know what I'm cooking that day or if I'm in the bathroom on the toilet? Boggles my mind. Even at the continuous nagging by my kids, I don't text. Gasp!!! I want to hear their voices and emotions and I'm just horrible at "two-thumbing" talking. I also hate, hate, hate with a passion people in line at the store talking about their very private lives while the rest of us are appalled at them. In restaurants, I've been watching the folks around us and a couple or a family will all pull out their cell phones and are talking on the cell phone or playing games. Where's the family sociality there? No wonder families are in danger! They don't talk to each other; they text each other. I know this to be true with some families we know. I make Love Bunny turn his off before we go into the restaurant. Mine is rarely on except if I'm shopping and need to ask hubs something we might need. I just don't use it much at all. My granddaughter is the same way and she works for Microsoft. She just got one these past few months when pregnant with her 2nd child and her hubby couldn't find her and thought she'd gone into labor. He had a fit so we gave her an old one of ours we never threw away and put her on our plan for ten dollars more a month. NO data plan, no fancy apps, just a phone she can let someone know if she's in trouble. She and I think so much alike, it's as if she's my daughter and not my granddaughter.

And we don't have a television, which brings up my newest rant.

Why do I have to go out to a restaurant with televisions spread all over the place blaring out sports events while my hubs and I are trying our best to talk? I love Applebee's best of all but I'm getting sick of the loud noise. Olive Garden or other restaurants at which we dine don't have the televisions blaring. Actually, Olive Garden has a separate room on the other side of the dining area at our local one here in town. I truly appreciate that. But while dining we should be chatting with the person or couple, not trying to talk above a blaring sports event. Okay, I'll slither back into my hole now and calm down. :-)
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This is a gorgeous room I think. Love the striped curtains.

Just eye candy roses and lilacs.

I have no clue where this building is but it is stunning with its architecture.

Radishes even make a gorgeous flower arrangement.

Fairies? If they say so, it must be true. Can you spot them?

Gorgeous wallpaper.

Gorgeous balcony and french doors.

A small little private area in a big city.

I think Claudia would like this island. ;-)

Gorgeous, stunning fuchsia chairs and curtains.

Pretty pillow cases with embroidered lace edges.

Eye candy tag for you.

My kind of license plate!

Yummy cookies!

Another place for your pretties, hanging in the windows overlooking an ocean.

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Tidbit:
It is illegal in the U.S. to sell raw almonds. They must be pasteurized before sale.
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