Music

This was a quote of my flip calendar, "Music is the art of thinking with sounds."  ~Jules Combarieu

We are all moved by music and we feel it to the depths of our soul.  There's nothing like music and this morning I'm so very thankful that I can hear!

Have a wonderfully happy thankful time preparing for this wonderful holiday!

Kindness

        What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness ~ Jean Jacques Rousseau

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

I made this for dinner a couple of nights ago and I loved it! 

2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts
1 large red apple, I used Honeycrisp
5 smoked bacon slices, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Remove and discard stem ends from Brussels sprouts; peel leaves, and place in a large bowl.  Add apple slices.
Cook bacon until crisp and break into 1/2 inch pieces.  Reserve drippings from bacon.  Add bacon pieces to Brussels sprouts mixture.
Add vinegar to drippings and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.  Boil one minute or until reduced to about 1/3 cup.
Stir in mustard and 4 ingredients.  Add oil in a slow steady stream, stirring occasionally until blended.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and sugar.  Pour hot dressing over Brussels sprouts and toss.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings

Enjoy this Autumn Weekend!

The woods are full of fairies;
              The sea is full of fish;
The trees are full of golden leaves,
Let's make an Autumn wish.    ~ Anon


 

Leaf from Arboretum

Spinach Orzo Salad

This is a wonderful new spinach salad I tried.  It has a wonderful light lemony dressing.  It's a wonderful addition to baked fish or chicken or a light lunch.

4 cups of spinach
3/4 cup uncooked orzo
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded skinless, boneless baked chicken breast (I omitted this when I made the salad)
1/2 cup diced English cucumber
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and place in a large bowl.  Meanwhile, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil salt, garlic and honey; stir well with a whisk.  Drizzle juice mixture over orzo and toss to coat.  Add chicken, dill, red pepper, onion, cucumber and spinach and toss gently to combine.  Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese.

Our Trip to the Dallas Arboretum

  

  Several weekends ago we took a wonderful day trip to the Dallas Arboretum.  It has been a desire of my heart to go there for years.  Let me tell you how I heard about the Arboretum.  I took a master gardening class in 1993.  This might be something you would be interested in.  It usually starts in September and you meet once a week from about 9:00 a.m. until around 3:00 p.m. and the class ends in December.   You have a little assignment every week and an open book final at the end of the class.  The class is free but you are asked to donate a certain number of hours to answer the phone at the extension center at OSU-OKC. (Things may have changed some since I took the class so you will have to call and get specifics.)  You have about a 5-6 inch notebook of fact sheets, handouts and your personal notes when you finish the class.  It is a great resource of information to have on hand.  The class is very informative and you learn a lot about all types of gardening.  You have professionals in the various fields of horticulture to professors from OSU in Stillwater who give lectures on various aspects of gardening. When I took this class I heard other master gardeners talk about the Dallas Arboretum and how beautiful it is.  And it is! 

I took so many pictures of the gardens and the landscaping I couldn't begin to post all of them although I wanted to.  The gardens are on 66 acres that front a beautiful lake.  You will have to look on line at all the activities they have.  They have two old beautiful homes that sit on the property.  One you can tour and they serve a high tea and also a beautiful outdoor space for lunch.  The other home is used for office space upstairs and the down stairs in used for parties and receptions.  The patio of this home opens up to a huge lawn area where there are outdoor concerts and it overlooks the lake.  You are free to bring a lunch and spread a blanket and eat on the grounds through out the gardens and we saw many people doing that or lying on a blanket just reading. 

We walked the whole acreage from front to back and all the nooks and crannies in between.  We saw all the babbling brooks, the bird sanctuary and took notice of all the unusual varieties of plants and the huge crepe myrtle trees.  Everything is beyond beautiful!  There were several weddings that day and one future bride was having her wedding portrait made.

I wanted to go in the fall because I love the fall and there is nothing to compare to their pumpkin display.  They display over 65,000 pumpkins and gourds and no I didn't add to many zeros.  :)  The pumpkin village is magical.  They have 4 different types of pumpkin houses and inside the houses they have painted tarps and there are stories written about gardening for children.  A hay bale maize that kids can run and romp through.  It was the perfect day for this and by 1:00 there were lots of families enjoying this story book atmosphere. 

We were there for about three and half hours and worked up quite an appetite doing all that walking.  We couldn't leave Dallas without going to one of our favorite restaurants, "Pappadeaux".  I highly recommend Pappadeaux and I would suggest one of the chef's specialties, you won't go wrong.  So far, it's the best fish I've ever eaten. Also try the Greek Salad for two that's prepared at your table.  It's light but has the freshest ingredients, plump shrimp, capers, an assortment of greens other vegetables with a light homemade dressing. It's making me hungry now thinking about it. :)  As you can see, the end our day was crowned with a gorgeous sunset.  What a beautiful way to end a beautiful day. 

One heart's desire marked off my list!