Tea Recipe and How To Cope With a Summer Cold

 

Hello, My Lovelies!  Can you believe that June is halfway over?  Midsummer will be this weekend, and then the days will start getting shorter.

I caught a nasty summertime cold on June 1st.  Summertime colds are the WORST!  The only thing that makes me feel a little bit better is that I really haven't missed any lake time because it has been the wettest and stormiest June *ever*...  My cold literally lasted for 15 days!

Although I never really spiked a fever, I've been cold because my family likes to keep the house cooler than what I like.  So because of my cold and staying inside a lot in the air conditioning, I've been drinking copious amounts of tea.  Also, my doctor said the best thing I could do to help myself get better is to constantly hydrate.

Serendipitously, we had a tea recipe as part of our Bible study earlier in the month, and I tried it and liked it.  

I'm sharing it here in this post!  This is all you need to make it:

The teas recommended for this recipe are hibiscus, rooibos, or chamomile.

Any herbal tea you like will probably work.

A Delightful Afternoon Tea

Ingredients:

6 cups boiling water

2 herbal tea bags

Juice from one orange

Juice from one lemon

2 T organic honey

3 fresh sprigs mint

Directions:

Combine water and tea bags in a teapot, and steep for 8 minutes.  Pour in your fresh orange and lemon juice, then add the honey.  Garnish with fresh mint.

This is a great recipe to bookmark because you can drink a cup while it's hot, then refrigerate the rest to have for later.  This tea is excellent iced!

This recipe is from the devotional SoulFull by Farrell Mason.

I also watched Cubs baseball, and I binge watched Harry Wilde.  It's a mystery series set in Ireland starring Jane Seymour.  I highly recommend it!

I have also been reading a few cozy fantasies as well as a couple of classic fantasy books.  More on them in a later post.

Full disclosure, I was also planning on reviewing a couple of new tea products, but I couldn't get my act together.  I promise to share them along with a few mini book reviews at the end of the month.

I can't stress enough how hydration helped me feel so much better.  :D

Yep!  You read that correctly!  I will review and share a recipe for Cozy Chocolate Earl Grey Tea.

Stay hydrated, y'all!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Tea Recipe and How To Cope With a Summer Cold

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

CSA Wrap-Up and a Super Easy Recipe!

 

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!

First of all, I want to thank-you for reading my blog, especially the posts featuring our Community Supported Agriculture Subscription Box.  Today I'll be sharing with you a few highlights from weeks nine and ten.

Week Nine

The peaches from week nine were exceptional.  Mr. Bookish's birthday was during week nine, and he requested that I bake a Peach and Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake for his celebration.

This was a hit with Mr. Bookish as well as family and friends.

One of the big surprise hits of the CSA boxes has been the tiny currant tomatoes.  I made a couple of Red Currant Tomato Galettes we enjoyed.  

Another highlight from week nine:  Creamer Potatoes!

If you'd like tips on ways to cook and grill these delicious potatoes, click on THIS LINK.

Perhaps the biggest hit from week nine was the following simple recipe.

The Best Open-Faced Tomato Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 Loaf of Hearty Bakery Bread

Spreadable Cream Cheese with Chives (or another savory, spreadable cheese with your favorite herbs)

Your Favorite Heirloom Tomato

Fleur de Sel

Directions:

1.  Thickly cut the bread and toast it to your preference.

2.  Generously spread the cheese on one side of the slices.

3.  Top the cheese with a thick slice of tomato.

4.  Sprinkle the tomato with Fleur de Sel salt.

Y'all!!!  You must purchase this salt, above.  This is the best finishing salt, and your tomatoes are begging you to use it!  It truly makes all the difference.  This recipe is a super-easy appetizer or lunch.  But don't try it without the Fleur de Sel!  

COOK'S NOTE:  If you purchase a loaf of bread and there is some left, slice it and freeze it for up to three or four months.  You can also do this with an entire loaf.  Bread freezes so well, and we have been doing this all summer with the wonderful bread varieties from Hinkel's Bakery that have been included in our boxes.

Week Ten

The highlight of Week Ten for me was the inclusion of Lion's Mane Mushrooms.  There are so many health benefits consuming them, one being brain health.  We made a Lion's Mane Mushroom Risotto.  This recipe was a huge hit, and it has a flavor that combines what you'd expect with a mushroom (earthy) and what you might not expect (seafood, like crabmeat).  I think it would be a great, hearty side for any main dish especially in the fall or winter.

Other favorite recipes from Week Ten:

Ratatouille

Summer Polenta with Sautéed Farmer's Market Vegetables

Baked Blueberry French Toast Casserole

This recipe is from Martha Stewart, and it is super-easy.  It can be made the night before, and it reheats nicely, too.

We enjoyed trying out new egg recipes because the eggs each week were so delicious.

I asked my family their favorite recipes we tried using ingredients from the CSA boxes.  Below are our favorites:

Peach Burrata Parmesan Crostini With Hot Honey (I made this last night!)

Deconstructed Stuffed Bell Peppers

Chicken Paprika

Best Open-Faced Tomato Sandwich

Lady Pea and Tomato Salad

Classic French Quiche Lorraine 

If you want to look-up links to any of these, just use the search engine at the top of the page.

We enjoyed the ten week CSA Summer Subscription so much that we subscribed to the eight week End-Of-Summer CSA.  I will not post as much about it, only a few highlights because I've been working on projects I want to share plus I'll be looking ahead to autumn.  I'd like to thank Stone Hollow Farmstead for their commitment to providing quality produce and products to their customers.  

Posts I'm Currently Working On:

Next week I'll share a few floral projects.

This Friday and the following Friday I will update you on my Summer Reading Challenge and share a few book reviews.

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

CSA Wrap-Up and a Super Easy Recipe!

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Midsummer Tablescape and More CSA Fun

 

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!

Today I want to share with you highlights from our Week 8 Community Supported Agriculture subscription box and a midsummer tablescape.

Week eight's box included garden carrots, onions, cherry tomatoes, naturally grown blueberries, herbs (oregano and basil), rainbow eggs, heirloom tomatoes, peaches, pink eyed peas, sweet potatoes, eggplant, ciabatta bread, and fresh burrata from Lioni (New Jersey).

The highlights were definitely the peaches (it's been a great summer for Alabama Chilton County peaches), the heirloom tomatoes, and the fresh burrata.  Burrata is a cheese shaped into a ball that's packaged in water, and when you cut into it or tear it, it's a bit runny.  Burrata means butter in Italian, and it is a yummy and buttery cheese.

We used the burrata in the big hit of the week:  

Tomato Peach Burrata Salad (above).  Here is the LINK. 

My daughter's favorite recipe of the week also included the burrata cheese.  Click here and check out the Peach Burrata Parmesan Crostini With Hot Honey.

Other favorite recipes from week eight include:

Black Eyed Pea Summer Salad

Honey Mustard Chicken

Farfalle With Eggplant and Yogurt Sauce

We received some of the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes that I've ever seen.  Carole from the From My Carolina Home  blog recently posted a recipe for Tomato Pie.  I thought I'd give it a try!  It was a hit in our home, and she really gives some great tips on how to cook one.  Click on this LINK for her post featuring this recipe.

This afternoon we will receive week nine's box, and I can't wait!

We have several July birthdays in our family.  Mr. Bookish loves the beach, lake, and fishing, so when I saw these darling fish plates on sale at Anthropologie, I thought they'd be fun for a birthday luncheon tablescape.  I think the fish (or whale?) has a funny little face, and I also like the pale blue and white stripes on the plates.  

I started with a navy and white tablecloth.  Then I layered placemats with a beach umbrella pattern.  Next I added MacKenzie-Childs plates as chargers, and I chose patterns that match the placemats.  The red and white striped napkins are a nod to beach huts, and I thought they would emphasize the red writing on the fish plates.

The yellow roses are meant to compliment the chartreuse on the placemats.  If you look closely, you can see that the napkins are trimmed in chartreuse, too.

Have you notices that scallops are in style right now?  I do have elements of them on the flower frog and the tablecloth.  If you keep things long enough they come back in style!

There is nothing new on the table other than the glasses and the plates, and I purchased them recently at Anthropologie.

In case you missed it....

I posted a small Bastille Day Vignette HERE.

You can read two romance and a classic book review HERE.

What I'm currently working on...

Since it's the All Stars break this week, I might try to do a couple of projects.  One that I'm wanting to try is a summertime cloche.  I'll also have more time to paint this week!

What have you been up to lately?

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Midsummer Tablescape and More CSA Fun

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

CSA Week Six, Recipe Links, and a Recipe

 

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!  I'm in the midst of Independence Day preparations for our family.  I'm so happy we'll all be together this week.  I am truly blessed!  For my American Friends, what are your plans for The Fourth of July?

In case you missed it, a shared a casual patriotic tablescape in our breakfast room yesterday.

HERE is the LINK.

We loved our Week Six CSA Subscription Box.  It was my favorite one so far!  Let's take a look of all the goodness we received!

Contents:  Baby Garden Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Cherry Tomatoes, Currant Tomatoes, Wild Blueberries, Herb Bundles | Lemon Verbena, Basil, Oregano, Rainbow Eggs, Lady Peas, Zucchini, Hot Banana Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, and Pizza Dough from Hinkle's Bakery

I think the first thing we cooked was pizza utilizing the pizza dough and banana peppers.  It was delicious!  Here are a few links to other dishes we cooked this past week:

Tomato Salad with Tiny Tomatoes (made with the tiny, delicious currant tomatoes)

Crustless Garden Vegetable Quiche

Lady Pea and Tomato Salad

Blueberry Buckle

Since it was blueberry harvest, we received more blueberries.  I made a blueberry buckle, and everyone enjoyed it, especially for breakfast.

I have also been inspired by my Blog Friends.  Although we've been eating healthily organically grown produce for weeks, we still need a little bit of protein.  Sweet Kris from Junk Chic Cottage shared her yummy recipe for Chicken Paprika with me.  I have been searching for a delicious recipe to use with the paprika we brought home with us from Budapest.  Here it is:

Chicken Paprika

Ingredients:

6 to 8 chicken thighs

1 container of sour cream (regular size)

3 T corn starch for thickening

1 can of chicken broth

1 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil your choice  Kris uses butter.

Paprika

Parsley for garnish

Procedure:

Sauté the unions in the butter.  Then put paprika on the front and back side of the chicken thighs.  Coat them with paprika.  Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  After sautéing the onion brown the chicken thighs on both sides. 

 

Next, add chicken broth to the pan and simmer the thighs and onion mixture for about 30 to 40 minutes on low simmer, just so the thighs cook thoroughly.  (Use a meat thermometer.  Chicken is done at 165 degrees.)

 

Take 3 tablespoons or so of corn starch and add water to make rue to thicken the broth base.  Take the thighs out of the pot and bring the chicken broth to a boil and then slowly add the cornstarch to thicken.  After that is done,  add the container of sour cream to the thickened broth mixture.  Once well blended add the thighs back to the mixture.

 

Kris likes to eat this over rice, and it's often served over noodles or potatoes.  (I served it over noodles.)

 

This is so easy and so good!  You can add parsley as a garnish if you want before serving.  This tastes even better the next day as left overs.

COOK'S NOTE:  Kris suggested using sweet paprika, and that's the one I used.  It's the one in the green pouch, above.

***Thank-you, Kris!  It is the bomb, and it was a very easy recipe.  We also agree it's even better the next day.

It has been hot here, and I've spent lots of time and effort in watering our hydrangeas.  I've also been bringing them inside to enjoy.  Mary from Home Is Where the Boat Is has a great tutorial on how to arrange hydrangeas and ensure that they last for a long time.  HERE is the LINK.

We're headed to Lake Martin, and I won't post again before next week, so no Literary Friday post this week.  I hope all my American Lovelies have a very safe and happy Independence Day celebrating the very best Constitutional Republic in human history with family and friends.  God Bless America!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

CSA Week Six, Recipe Links, and a Recipe

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

CSA Week Five, Inspirations, and a Recipe

 

The pink eye peas were our favorite item in our Week Five CSA subscription box.

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!  Today I'll be sharing our Week Five CSA subscription box, a recipe, and a few things that inspired me this past week.  Our subscription only lasts for ten weeks, so we're halfway through!  Below are photos of the veggies and things from last week's box.

Garden Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Blueberries, Endive, Onions, Chive & Basil Bundles, Rainbow Eggs, Cucumbers , Green & Purple String Beans , Chabata from Hinkle’s Bakery, Pink Eye Peas, Butter Beans, Green Tomatoes, and

Fried Green Tomato Batter (Whistle Stop Cafe)

Each week we receive pretty herb bundles, and this week's chives and basil were put to good use in an egg dish (chives) and Ina Garten's Summer Garden Pasta recipe (basil).

I mostly just cooked the peas and beans, and made a salad with the rest.  I also cooked the fried green tomatoes using the mix, and we used them to make BLT sandwiches.  This is what I put into BLT's:

Ingredients:

Friend Green Tomatoes

Applewood Smoked Bacon

Red Leaf Lettuce

Pimento and Cheese

Sourdough Bread

Directions:

Slice and toast your sourdough bread.  Spread pimento cheese on one side of each bread as if it were mayonnaise.  Then add the bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes.  This sandwich is very good grilled.  Just skip the toasting step and grill it like a grilled cheese.

This is my family's favorite way to make BLT's!  However if you're not a fan of pimento cheese, substitute Duke's Mayonnaise.  

One recipe I made this past week was utilizing the blueberries: I made a family favorite, "Blueberry Fool."

Blueberry Fool

Serves 5

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

zest of a small lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

First, make the blueberry sauce.  Heat 1 1/2 cups blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar and the salt in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and juice; remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Do not rush this step!  You might want to place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Next, beat the heavy cream in a bowl with a mixer or whisk until soft peaks just begin to form. Beat in the vanilla and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Gently fold all but 1/3 cup of the blueberry sauce into the whipped cream.  You can either blend it until the whipped cream is a purple color, or you can make the dessert look "swirled."  Divide among glasses and top with the remaining blueberry sauce.  Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to three days.

COOK'S NOTE:  This recipe presents better in clear glass.  I used 8 ounce French café glasses I purchased from Williams-Sonoma.  I know that the five servings is a bit awkward, so you can use smaller compotes or jars if you have them.

I'm looking forward to this afternoon for Box #6!

Below are a few inspiring things (and people) from last week.

Y'all might have heard about the shark attacks on the Florida panhandle a couple of weeks ago.  One of the young victims is named Lulu, and she lives in Birmingham.  She is a warrior, and the community has truly lifted her up in prayer and financially through fundraisers.  I am so humbled by her courage, and I'm definitely inspired by the generosity of so many people.  You'll see purple ribbons all over Birmingham in support of Lulu (purple is her favorite color).  A local artist, Carrie Pittman, used the torn pages from a devotional (creatively torn by her puppy) and created pretty works of art.  She sold these pretty pieces giving the proceeds to Lulu and her family.  She is quite an amazing lady!  You can follow her on Instagram @carriepittmanart.

Carrie used pinks, mauves, and purples in her cross paintings.  She then framed them between two blocks of lucite.

While at the fundraiser at a local florist, we saw wedding flowers almost entirely in shades of purple and mauve.  There were so many purple varieties, and the mauve tones reminded me of the 80s.  Normally I'm not a purple lover, but these florals were absolutely stunning and inspiring.  

Upcycling is another thing that inspired me this past week.

I'd like to feature two inspiring companies in this post.  The first one I found by accident on Anthropologie's website.  They also sell through their own website, too.  The name of the company is  Old Flame Candle Company.  They specialize in taking old, vintage vessels, especially from the Mid Twentieth Century, and making them into candles.  The neat thing is that once the candle is used-up, the vessel can still be used for its original purpose or for something else.  Another neat service is that you can return the vessel and have it refilled, or you can send them your own vessel, and they will fill it with a candle.  I think it's such a neat idea!  They also sell other vintage items that aren't candles.  I think Anthropologie has a really neat curated collection of their items.  Just hop over to their site and type Old Flame Candle Company in their search engine.

In the graphic above, the green hobnail milk glass holds a candle.  Her name is Pearl.  All of their candles are named.

I think that this candle is pretty, too.  

Another upcycling company inspiring me is an Etsy shop called Pretty Old Books.  The owner Jess Dollar also has her own site.  Jess is from North Alabama, and she sells the prettiest vintage books.  She specializes in vintage books for decor, and decorators from all over the country purchase her curated book stacks.  If you're looking for a specific theme or color, she can probably find what you want.  I tend to purchase titles from her because the books interest me.  Below are two books I recently purchased from her, and the one on the left is a history book about my home county.

This is a teal green and blue stack.  It reminds me of sea glass! 

I'm noticing a pattern here.  Clearly blues, teals, and greens are also inspiring me.  I need to spend some time in my art studio this week exploring these colors!

Speaking of books...come back Friday for my review of All The Light We Cannot See.

What's inspiring you today?

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

CSA Week Five, Inspirations, and a Recipe

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

CSA Weeks Three and Four, Inspirations, And a Recipe

 

Before they ripen, blueberries are the prettiest shades of pink!

Hello, My Lovelies!  How is your summer progressing?  Did you enjoy Father's Day with friends and family over the weekend?  Mr. Bookish had a wonderful weekend: His girls saw to that!

Today I want to share with you weeks three and four community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, a few things that are inspiring me, and a recipe.  I'll start with the CSA produce.

The highlights of week three's box were the pole beans, Chilton County peaches, mushrooms, and sourdough bread.  The highlights from week four were the onions, herbs, and not one but two dozen eggs.

We are enjoying our fresh produce delivered to our door weekly.  I would say that we are eating about ninety to ninety-five percent of everything so far, and what we aren't eating we're sharing with friends and neighbors.  Today I will share links of a few of our favorite recipes from the past couple of weeks.

Cabbage Steaks with Balsamic Dressing

Fried Okra

Summer Squash Casserole

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Swiss Chard With Garbanzo Beans and Fresh Tomatoes

Classic French Quiche Lorraine 

I have too many other photos to post, but I wanted to share a photo of at least one of the recipes I made.

This is the Quiche Lorraine, a family favorite.

The pound cake recipe is the exact way my grandmother made it.  I can fry okra in my sleep, but I thought that this recipe would be good for those of you who haven't tried it yet.  It really is a great one!  Because of our bumper crop of eggs, I chose to bake the pound cake, quiche, and squash casserole.  I usually bake a squash casserole or quiche if I have lots of eggs on hand.  Eggs also remind me of my grandmother's pound cake.  :D

Although we've been promised melons in the boxes, they aren't quite ripe yet.  It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't get a few in today's box.  I know Mr. Bookish loves them!  We did buy a couple of watermelons over the weekend, and with the leftover melon I made one of Mr. Bookish's favorite summertime salads.  I know you've probably seen watermelon salads all over Pinterest, and the first recipe I tried was from the Anthropologie blog several years ago.  I've had a little bit of time to perfect it (in Mr. Bookish's eyes, anyway).

Mediterranean Watermelon Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 cups seedless watermelon cubed 

1 1/2 cups sliced cucumber peeled and seeds removed (I usually buy one medium size cucumber, and it's usually right at 1 1/2 cups once sliced.)

1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled

3 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of one lime (at least 1 1/2 tablespoons)

salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh mint thinly sliced, to taste

Procedure:

Place the watermelon in a large serving bowl.  You can easily use the same bowl for preparation and serving.

Peel the cucumber with a vegetable peeler and slice in half.  Use a spoon to scoop out all of the seeds.  

Do NOT skip this step!

Slice into one quarter inch slices and add to the watermelon.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice and salt and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the watermelon and cucumber mixture. Carefully toss to coat.  Sprinkle with feta and serve.  Garnish with mint, to taste.

Notice that the mint is separate.  Chop the mint right before serving and add it once it's been served.  You might have leftover salad, and mint doesn't age well.  Only add it at serving time!  

What's currently inspiring me:

Blueberries

Last weekend we went blueberry picking at Blueberry Havens.  Professor Havens, a retired professor from Auburn University, owns a blueberry farm and second hand bookstore.  He is truly living his best life!  And I must say that the combination of two of my favorite things made a perfect late afternoon/early evening for me.  We went late in the day to avoid the heat!

The blueberries were ripe for the most part.

Trip and I each picked a gallon of blueberries.  I froze most of them because we also got some berries in the fourth box.

Check out the Alabama red clay in the background.  Who knew that blueberries love growing in it?  

I've already cooked a blueberry crips, and we've had blueberries over homemade ice cream.  This week I'll probably make a blueberry fool.  If I do, I'll post that recipe.  Its a very refreshing dessert for summer!

Children's Fiction From My Childhood

These are the books I purchased at the used bookshop.  Both are children's books, and I remember reading both as a child!  The Tide in the Attic is a middle grades historical literary novel surrounding the actual events during the February 1953 flood of Holland that killed 1794 people and cost $280,000,000 in damages.  It was first published in Dutch in 1961.

The Figure in the Shadows is Book Two in the Lewis Barnavelt Series (the first one is The House with a Clock in Its Walls).  There are a dozen books in the series, and all are written in the Gothic style.  I liked scary things when I was a little girl!  I also liked the scarier Nancy Drew mysteries, too.

Flowers

Last week I participated in a link party, and I was inspired by everyone's centerpieces.  

I've started painting again, and although my current painting isn't floral, my next one might be.

Once the hydrangeas were past their prime, I brought in some sunflowers.  Now our table is decorated with primary colors.

Don't primary colors remind you of the nineties?

Christopher and Shanley Belle

Last weekend, Shanley Belle went to the Detroit Tigers' Pink Out Baseball Game.  They sent me tons of photos.  I am one blessed mama!

Make sure to check back on Fridays as I share my Summer Reading Challenge.  I'm challenging myself to read fifteen books between June 1st and September 1st.

I know the graphic says 20 Books of Summer.  We also had the options to read fifteen or ten.

;P

Thanks for reading my blog!  Please let me know if you're interested in reading more about our Adventure Eating project.  If not, I'll post about other things!  What would YOU like to read here on my blog?

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

CSA Weeks Three and Four, Inspirations, And a Recipe

Tuesday, June 18, 2024