Before the St. Patrick’s Day decorations are put away and my Easter decor takes over, here are a few images of my love of shamrocks. I had decided to keep my tall white “Christmas” tree up and decorate it for each holiday/season. We love its ambiance!
Category Archives: Celebrations
Valentine Supper
With Valentine’s falling on a Sunday, there was time to prepare a nice Valentine supper for David and I. When I did my grocery shopping at Kroger’s earlier in the week, they were offering a special two-for-one sale on their pork rib slabs. So I picked up two. Over the years I have felt intimidated to cook ribs thinking it to be quite a process. After looking up some recipes, I learned the secret is slow baking at a low temperature.
I wrapped up each slab individually in foil after giving them a rub of spices – season salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika, followed by a generous sprinkling of brown sugar. After baking for at least two hours at 300-degrees, the meat was tender. I opened up the foil wrap and dabbed a BBQ mixture of catsup and A-1 sauce, closed the foil and baked for another 1/2 hour. Once again I opened up the foil, this time putting the ribs under the broiler to crisp up the BBQ sauce on the ribs.
I also made a pot of “Roasted French Chestnut” Soup. I sautéed chopped onion, celery and garlic in butter, then added flour to make the roux. To this I added chicken broth and chopped roasted chestnuts. The roasted chestnuts come from France, are packaged in a jar, and can be ordered through Amazon. Seasonings consisted of roasted chicken bouillon, season salt, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, sugar, and most importantly…ground nutmeg. Once the soup was cooked and the flavors marinated together, the soup was pureed in our Nutra-Ninja to make it smooth and velvety.
To round out our meal, I baked two whole sweet potatoes in the oven along with the ribs. I made a tasty side salad of leafy greens, blue cheese sprinkles, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans. A strawberry-balsamic dressing was drizzled on top. Additional items were Sweet Hawaiian rolls with butter, and a side bowl of the BBQ sauce. Very pink raspberry and strawberry macarons ordered on Etsy were our sweet treats. Heart shaped mugs of hot Earl Grey tea complimented our Valentine supper.
Dining room table set for our Valentine supper.
Red hearts, white lace and ceramic cherubs decorate the table.
A duo of cloth napkins held together with a cherub napkin ring.
Red tulips spill out of a Valentine vase.
Centerpiece grouping of tulips in vase, cherub holding a heart, pillar candle and checked hearts.
Plates laden with our Valentine supper food.
Leafy lettuce salad with bleu cheese sprinkles, dried cranberries, chopped pecans and a strawberry-balsamic dressing.
Roasted French Chestnut Soup, Baked BBQ Ribs with extra BBQ Sauce, halved Sweet Potato, and heart shaped mugs of hot Earl Grey Tea.
Sweet Raspberry and Strawberry Macarons on antique silver tray completed our special Valentine supper.
Our 43rd Anniversary!
On Sunday, September 11, 1977 at 5:00pm, David and I were married on the campus of Michigan State University in the Rose Garden behind the Student Services Building. Beaumont Tower was chiming the hour. The weather was perfect…clear sunny skies and mid-70’s temperature. Our immediate families were present to support us and celebrate the occasion. A retired reverend officiated the ceremony. Afterwards we all gathered, including the reverend and his wife, at the Grate Steak Restaurant in East Lansing for our wedding supper.
The Grate Steak Restaurant was part of the Win Schuler’s line of restaurants at that time. Sadly the Grate Steak has been gone for years. Out of all the Schuler restaurants that were once around in Michigan, the only one left is Schuler’s in Marshall MI.
Over the years many of our birthdays, holidays and anniversaries have been celebrated at Schuler’s in Marshall. And this year’s anniversary was enjoyed there as well. David and I have one favorite entree that we order…London Broil. Unfortunately over the last couple years we weren’t seeing it on their menu…and stopped going.
At some point I had a conversation with a manager about this. He explained that yes the London Broil entree is hit and miss on their menu now, sometimes only showing up during the Christmas holiday season. He also said when we make our reservations to specifically ask for the London Broil and the chef will prepare it for us if he has the ingredients on hand.
So last Friday, September 11, 2020, on our 43rd wedding anniversary, and with a 5:00pm reservation …Schuler’s came through for us with a delicious meal that included all our favorites…Schuler’s Cheese and Crackers, Schuler’s Salad, London Broil, and Creme Brulee (with a Raspberry Swirl) for dessert! Thank You Schuler’s!
Mom’s Birthday Tea Party
On July 10 (2020) our Mom had her 88th birthday! Happy Blessed Birthday!
David and I celebrated with Mom on Sunday, July 12 when we were looking after her while my sister and her husband were away for the day. I decided to do something fun by having a Birthday Tea Party supper for the three of us.
Since we were going to be with Mom at my sister’s home, I brought over the white lace table linens, china and glass tableware, gold flatware, teaware and tea food needed for our special meal. It was a pleasant day so I set things up on their back screened-in porch.
I made my version of Gazpacho Soup which I served in glass cups and placed on our Haviland china plates. I used my grand-mother’s Haviland china for the same reason as at our May Porch Party…to include her in spirit in our festivities.
We had five savories, a fruit, and four tea desserts that were plated and presented on a three-tier server. Earl Grey Black Tea was poured from a tea-cozy covered tea pot into the Haviland china teacups. I prepared the savories and fruit. All the tea desserts were purchased pre-made from Kroger.
Happy Birthday!
Table set and ready to enjoy a Birthday Tea Party Supper
Three tiers of tea treats
Top tier plate: Cucumber-Dill Blossoms on White Bread, Egg Salad on White Bread Tea Sandwiches,
Roasted Grape Tomatoes & Pesto Crostini (French bread)
Middle tier plate: Chicken Salad with Dried Cranberries & Pecans on Croissants, Green Olive & Walnuts with Cream Cheese on Whole Wheat Tea Sandwiches, Fresh Watermelon Slices
Bottom tier plate: Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Square, Madelines,
Raspberry-Lemonade Tea Cakes, Lemon Bars
Plate filled with cup of Gazpacho Soup cup, savory tea sandwiches and watermelon slice,
and a teacup of Earl Grey Black Tea
Plate of tea desserts for Mom’s birthday celebration
Knitted tea cozy over teapot of Earl Grey Black Tea, sitting on a tea warmer
Fresh pink roses in pretty teapot vase
May Porch Party
In honor of Mother’s Day and to celebrate my birthday (they were two days apart), my sister Liz and our mom Lila, came over to the house for a “porch party”. I set up a couple table trays to hold tea-ware and the dessert which my sister was bringing. Liz baked delicious Blueberry Crumble Bars and also brought vanilla ice cream for a-la-mode. She decorated the dessert pan with a sweet birthday banner. I have my grandmother’s Haviland china and I thought it would be a lovely gesture to use it…a way to include her in our family celebration too.
The front porch ready for our family celebration
Happy Spring!
Spring tulip decor
My sister Liz, our mother Lila, Soapy and David
Happy Mother’s Day!
Our special treat – Blueberry Crumble Bars
The African Violet was my birthday gift from Liz and Mom.