Cool, Crisp, Creamy and Refreshing

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

It seems to be a love or hate thing~ ~cucumbers.

Do you love or hate them?

It's 2 to 1 in our home.

The lovers Win!

I am making a big batch today so I will have some to share

with my neighbor who gave me the cucumbers.

So the Cuisinart came out to play.

I peel mine and cut the ends off.

Then into the Cuisinart to slice

with a 2mm blade.

I cut each one in half so they

fit into the feed tube.

Here they go and Oh don't forget to slice an onion too.

So pretty!



Soak them in cold salted water for about 45 min.
Drain well, I squeeze the water out of them
and pat with paper towels.




How for the recipe for my dressing.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

A few spoons of Hellmann's Mayo

(according to how many cukes you use)

a good quality vinegar to taste

cream to thin the sauce

sugar

salt and black pepper
Mix all with a whip.

Toss the cukes and the onions with

the dressing.

ENJOY!

I love this for breakfast on a hot summers day.

Thanks for joining me today.

I'm linking with Michael Lee for

FOODIE FRIDAY

Stop over and see whats going on.

Plenty of good recipes to try.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Just A Quick Question??

Would you or would you not want this beauty in your home?

I came across this lovely and am considering having it fixed up

and installed in the sun room just off the kitchen. Its a wood

burning stove and I am familiar with them as my Dear Aunt

Mary heated her old stone home with a similar but newer model.

Have you ever baked in a stove like this?

I wonder if I could bake a golden brown pie

in this oven?

Imagine 6 burners. I have only ever had 4.
There would be a hot tea pot of water at

the ready all winter long.

This part with two doors sits high above the stove top.

I don't even know if its an oven or a warming spot.

Here is the top laying on its side.
The green and cream enamel is so pretty.
The doors are the length of this piece.





If I installed this stove in the sunroom it would
also act as a heater in that room in the winter.
In the summer I would probably be
decorated and used for pretty.

So ladies, what do you think?
I'm linking to Susan for
Met Monday
because it would definitely be a Metamorphosis!

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Tin Can Vase?

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

Summer to me, means more casual dinners.

Relaxed entertaining.

Here is a great idea for a centerpiece.

Save a few of your tin cans and soak the labels off.


As a liner for each can I used a small bottle
or a plactic cup to put the water in.
I didn't want the cans to rust for this purpose.
Even though I do love the rusty look if you do
then skip the liners.
You could even set them outside in the rain
for a few weeks.



Fill with your favorite flowers from the garden.
Sometimes I even stop along the road for the pretties.

The Rose Of Sharon and yellow daisys

are from my garden.

The napkins are dish cloths,

good heavy cotton cloths.

I adore using side dishes that are unique,

I have two different patterns and both

of them are leaves.

Nature girl that I am.

This night we were having cucumber salad

as a side. Perfect for the white leaf dish.

A small touch of vintage lace on every table

is so pretty to me.

Votives and candles from

The Dollar Store.

Do you shop there for your tablescapes?

Lots of great buys.

Tablecloth is so old I don't remember where I got it.

Thanks for stopping by I appreciate it that

you took the time.

Its always nice to see your comments.

I'm linking to Susan at Between Naps On The Porch

for Tablescape Thursday.

Hop over and see all the pretty tables.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

A Sunshine Yellow Ribbon

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

I have been collecting white flowers for some time now

and finally had enough to make a front door wreath.

First I went to the garage to get this.

The plan was to make the mess on the picnic table

and keep it outside.

Then I got all this out.

I started with the beige flowers but decided

I wanted white. . .all white.

I have a really dark front door.

White shows up great.

I hot glued moss to a 25 cent wreath I got

at a yardsale.

Then I just put glue on the ends of the stems

and stick them into the wreath.

All of these flowers were purchased at the Dollar Store.

So was the ivy and the moss.

The ribbon was $1 for 3 yards at AC Moore.

The whole wreath might have cost me $10!

I make my bows a little differently.

Sorry no pictures, its kind of hard to take pictures and

make the bow at the same time.

I cut about 12-14" of ribbon and double it up.

About 2" from the folded end twist a 12" wire

around the doubled ribbon and puff it up.

This is your center.

Let the tails fall down and trim them at an angle

when you wire the bow to the wreath.

Then I fold the rest of the 3 yards back and forth

to make the rest of the bow.

Take your center with the wire and wire this into

the center of the bow and twist the back.

Now you have a bow with a wire to wire to your wreath.

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.

Please take a minute to visit my New eBay Shop:

www.PleasantValleyAntiques.com

You may see something you like!

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm so glad you took the time.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

GARNETS OF SUMMER

There is something so pleasing about jars and jars of pickled red beets.

They glisten and glow that deep shade of red that I love.

Some of you have asked for my recipe so I'll include it here.

People who have had my red beets for the first time just love them.

I think it's because of all the spices I add to each jar.

Did you notice the sweet little label on the jar?

It was created by Kristen at Paper Crave.com

She has designed some lovely products.

Stop by for a visit.

Kristen did a guest post at Cottage-Industrialist.com

You can find the links for labels, recipe cards and invitations

to a Canning Party there. Print them off yourself.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

PICKLED RED BEETS

6 quarts of beets cooked, peeled and cut into wedges

(just eye ball the quantity)

Boil together in a pot and keep hot to fill jars~ ~

3 C. Sugar

7 C. Heinz Vinegar, it's the best

2 tsp. Salt

3-4 cups of water from cooking your beets

2 T. Pickling Spice

1 med onion sliced into rings

When sugar is melted add your beet wedges and cook till

hot through and through.

In each washed and HOT jar put ~ ~

1 Bay Leaf, 1 Clove and 3 peppercorns

Fill each jar with beets, then add the juice to cover

to 1/4" from top of jar. Put Hot lids on top and screw tight.

I keep my lids in a pot of boiling water and put them on

with a tongs and a dish cloth to tighten. I let mine sit on the

counter for at least 24 hours. Love the pings as they seal!

I have never had a jar not seal using this method but
you can process in a canner if you like.

Here is the Pennsylvania Dutch Country

we make Red Beet eggs.

They are a fine picnic food.

When you open a jar of Pickled Red Beets

pour them into a glass container and

add 6 whole hard boiled eggs to the beets.

Refrigerate overnight then enjoy your

lovely red eggs!

I'm linking to the party's at these fine blogs.

Please visit them for more party goers!

Michael Lee @

DesignsbyGollum.blogspot.com

Cindy @

MyRomanticHome.blogspot.com.


Thanks for stopping by and Now here are the winners

of the Girards Dressings Packages

Suzy @ Kitchen Bouquet

Linda @ A La Carte

gnee @ Singing With Birds

Nancy @ Nancy's Daily Dish

Kathy @ A Delightsome Life

Please email me your mailing address so that I

can forward it to the fine folks

at Girards and you will receive your

Gift Package shortly.

Congratulations! You are going to love these dressings.

~ ~ ~Ahrisha~ ~ ~

Whats For Dinner?. .. and A Giveaway!

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

Do you love tomatoes? We do and all the roadside stands are

bursting with fruit and vegetables right now.

This plate was part of dinner. The meatless main course was

Corn On The Cob. For me it's not a side dish.

This lovely bowl of red beauties are my

heirloom tomatoes from last years garden.

Unfortunately this year we do not have a garden

but we do have the roadside stands.

More bounty from last years garden.

Thank goodness I did up all these pickled beets.

We have enjoyed them all winter and it's time to

begin again for the coming fall and winter.

Have you ever made

Tomato and Bread Salad?

We love it and here is how I make it.

First I heat a large fry pan with olive oil

and a few minced cloves of garlic. Add to this

about 3-4 cups of french bread cubes and toss

till golden brown.

Cube tomatoes in large chunks.

Slice a sweet onion into thin rings.

Add small mozzarella balls or grated cheese.

Fresh Basil leaves

Toss with your favorite oil and vinegar dressing.

Only make enough salad for your meal.

It does not keep well. Serve immediately.

I sometimes serve this on a bed of Fresh Basil

and mixed spring greens.

This was the main course for tonights dinner.

Fresh Sweet Corn.

~ ~ ~

Now we are getting to

The GIVEAWAY

The wonderful folks at Girards Dressings

contacted me and asked if I would like to try their dressings.

Of course I said YES.

Shame on me but I had never seen their

dressings in my local stores. Have you?

Well, this most lovely box of 4 dressings arrived tonight

just before dinner.

The packaging was beautiful and I was so excited

that I forgot to take pictures of it.

But here are 3 of the dressings.

~ ~ ~

Girards Signature Champagne Dressing

Peach Mimosa

Apple Poppyseed

As you can see I opened the Champagne dressing

and drizzled some over my corn on the cob.

Amazing~ ~ ~Try it yourself

When You Win One of Five Gift Sets

that I will be giving away!

That's Right 5 Giftsets!

Each containing 4 bottles of Dressing.

This is so generous of Girard's

Did I mention that they make 18 different dressings?

You have 3 chances to WIN!

For each chance you must leave a seperate comment.

1. Leave a comment and tell me if you have ever tried

Girard's Dressings.

2.Become a Follower of my blog.

Leave another comment and tell me so

or if you do follow me please tell me.

Thank you ahead of time.

It's so sweet of you to visit often.

3. Visit Girard's Blog and Sign Up for their Newsletter.

Check out their amazing recipes.

Click on a picture

which will take you to the recipe.

Scroll to the bottom of the page

to comment and sign up for the

newsletter and coupons.

As A Special Right Now Gift To All Of You

Girard's is giving away a limited amount of $2.00 off coupons

at this link. So grab yours now!

Did I mention that the Champagne Dressing drizzled over

Corn On The Cob was amazing?

I'm linking to Foodie Friday
and the amazing Michael Lee West
at Designs By Gollum

click over and check out all the
wonderful recipes there.
Thanks so much for stopping for a visit.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

French Provincial Dinner For Two

Hello Friends~ ~ ~Sunflowers look so cheerful

and I love these French Provincial prints

so when I saw this fabric I couldn't resist.

I think I bought 2 yards then washed it in the machine

so it would fray around the edges.

TaDa, tablecloth!

I have lots of new things to share today.

I am so glad that you stopped by.


Guess? Do you know what this is?

I love the handles. They twine and twist like twigs.

A pretty old aluminum tray.

My Grand Mother had a few pieces of this

and as I kid I loved how it shined.

I picked up a set of sweet little French glasses.

And some new votive holders.
I'm all set for summer dinners.

How about you?

Did you have to get a few new things too?

I have been playing around with my camera

and taking pictures in the sun and

capturing pleasing shadows.

and sometimes not so pleasing.
Reflections of the flame.

A white glass flower pot to hold a Primrose.

A sweet lacy edge.

I love to use ivy on my tablescapes.

I don't put it in water I just lay

the sprigs around the table.

They keep fresh for quite some time.

It wouldn't be French Country without a rooster.

Why is that?

I love these salt and pepper shakers.

They are squatty and fat and

feel so good in your hand.

I am linking to a few of my friends.

Please click the links to visit their party's.

TableScape Thursday at~

Between Naps On The Porch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Show Off Your Cottage at~

House In the Roses

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Favorite Things at~

The Hills Are Livin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Show and Tell at~

My Romantic Home

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I appreciate the time you take out of your

day to visit and comment.

It means so much to me.

Please be sure to leave a comment so I can visit you!

~ ~ ~Ahrisha~ ~ ~