Celebrating the 4th of July!

We all know that family traditions evolve over time, but its fun to glean and gather ideas from others to add to our own traditions. 

Its just plain fun to throw a party now and then!  And our neighbor, Jean, knows just how to do it!  I got the date mixed up and knocked at her door a day early. Oh my, I felt a bit foolish to have come on the wrong day but so glad I got a glimpse of her preparations so I could come back the next day bearing my camera. Her front door was so welcoming and festive and un-mistakenly patriotic.  All of her decorations radiated warmth and friendliness.  

 

There is nothing like fresh blooming plants to make a lovely statement.  Notice Jean’s old trunk container.  

Hat boxes, baskets, jars and planters of every size and style are re-cycled through the year to make the current holiday extraordinary.  

  Patio table decorated with flags & lantern.

The entry table held a basket with a gift for each guest.  These were New England poppers, hand made inexpensively by Tanja .  The treat inside was not only taffy, but the poppers were filled  with such things as a paper crown and a joke inside each!  

 

The tables were festively arranged with paper, glass, tin and plastic dishware, all combined artfully and inexpensively.  Paper drink umbrellas and pinwheels were made from paper patterns that you can print out from  Martha Stewart Clipart .  Making your own decorations will give you a great feeling of accomplishment.

 

Red & white tablecloth below is really a quilt used as a cover.

 

Jean demonstrates pinwheel that she printed off and made from the Martha Stewart link above.

Jean got lots of friends involved with the preparation of the food.  Each food presentation was very beautiful as well as tasty.  Getting others involved and sharing the cooking and food preparation make the hard part of a party easy. See all of the recipes below.  

Using pottery batter bowls, glass candy jars, baskets, lanterns and even a little red wagon to hold red white and blue candies, were charming and creative.  We all went home with our heads full of inspiration and our tummies full of yummy foods, thanks to all who participated. 

 

Country decor includes patriotic pillows with red, white & blue.

Scrapbook paper simply strung on a piece of string to make this garland.

Invitations were decorated popsicle sticks that were put in an envelope loose and then the recipient put together the puzzle.

Luminary sacks were lit to decorate the railing.

 

Fabric buntings-eased onto a rod.

Cute “chalkboard” made out of recycled cupboard front.

 

Red, White and Blue Star Tarts

Makes 4 tarts

 

½ (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crust

2 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (8 ounce) package frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

4 to 6 fresh strawberries, slices

12 fresh blueberries

 

Preheat oven to 450.  On a lightly floured surface, unroll crust.  Using a 4 ½ inch round cutter, cut 4 circles from pie crust.  Line 4 (4 inch) tart pans with prepared crusts; prick bottom of crusts with a fork.  Place on a baking sheet.

 

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

 

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, whipped topping and vanilla extract.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add confectioners sugar, beating until combined.  Spoon cream cheese mixture into prepared crusts.  Top with strawberries and blueberries in a decorative star pattern.

 

Watermelon Salad

Makes 4 servings

 

4 cups (1/2 inch cubes) seedless watermelon

1 cup chopped cucumber

1 cup finely chopped kalamata olives

1 (3/4 ounce) package fresh basil, torn

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp minced shallot

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

½ cup extra-light olive oil

 

In a large bowl, combine watermelon, cucumber, olives and torn basil.

 

In a small bowl, combine lime juice, lemon juice, shallot, salt and pepper; let stand for 5 minutes.  Slowly whisk in olive oil until combines.  Pour over watermelon mixture and toss gently to coat.  Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

 

Watermelon Slush

Makes 4 servings

 

4 cups (1 inch cubes) seedless watermelon, frozen

1 ½ cups hulled and quartered strawberries, frozen

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp simple syrup (recipe follows)

1/8 tsp salt

 

In the container of an electric blender, combine watermelon, strawberries, lime juice, syrup and salt.  Process for 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth.  Serve immediately.

 

Simple Syrup

Makes about 1 ½ cups

 

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; cool.  Chill at least 4 hours.

 

Blackberry Cobbler

Makes 12 servings

 

3 (16 ounce) packages frozen blackberries, thawed

1 cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 (24 count) package Mary B’s frozen bite-sized butter milk tea biscuits

1 tbsp butter, melted

1 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, combine blackberries, 1 cup sugar and flour.  Spoon into a 13 x 9 baking dish.

 

Arrange biscuits on top of fruit layer, pressing down gently.  Brush biscuits with melted butter.  In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over biscuits.

 

Bake for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pops

Makes 8 to 12 servings

 

1 (3.9 ounce) package chocolate fudge instant pudding mix

2 ½ cups milk

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

 

In a large bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk together until thickened.

 

In a microwave safe bowl, heat peanut butter in microwave on medium for 30 seconds or until slightly warm.  Stir well.  Add peanut butter to pudding, stirring well to combine.

 

Fill ice-pop molds with pudding mixture.  Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.  To remove pops from molds, follow manufacturer’s instructions.

 

Orange Creamsicles

Makes 8 to 12 servings

 

1 cup vanilla flavored yogurt

½ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

¼ cup water

1/8 tsp ground ginger

 

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, orange juice, water and ginger, stirring well.  Fill ice pop molds with yogurt mixture.  Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.  To remove pops from molds, follow manufacturer’s instructions.

 

Pina-Colada Pops

Makes 8 to 12 servings

 

2 cups pineapple juice

2/3 cup cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)*

 

In a medium bowl, combine juice and cream of coconut, stirring well.  Fill ice pop molds with mixture.  Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.  To remove pops from molds, follow manufacturer’s instructions.

 

 **Look for cans of cream of coconut in the mixed-drink section of your local grocery store.  These pops are nonalcoholic.

 

Lemon and Lime Icebox Parfaits

Makes 6 to 8 servings

 

1 (16 ounce) purchased angel food cake

2 (10 ounce) jars Dickinson’s Lemon Curd

2 (10 ounce) jars Dickinson’s Lime Curd

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Garnish: lemon gumdrops

 

Using a serrated knife, slice cake horizontally into thirds, trimming any browned edges from cake.  Using round cutters, cut cake rounds to fit desired glass.  Layer cake, curds and whipped topping; repeat as desired.  Place remaining whipped topping into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.  Pipe a rosette onto each parfait.  Garnish with lemon gumdrops, if desired.  You can made ahead and refrigerate.

 

Variations include: Using a white cake, adding coconut or nuts to the top, drizzling lemon liqueur over the cake or replacing the curd with fresh berries.

Flag Waving Cookies (shown above)

Makes 15 cookies

 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

15 craft sticks

1 (16 ounce) container vanilla icing

garnish: assorted liquid food coloring, gel icing and assorted cookie sprinkles

 

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

 

In a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy  Add sugar and confectioners sugar, beating until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla, beating to combine.

 

In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until smooth.

 

Divide dough into 2 balls, wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

 

Preheat oven to 350.

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼ inch thickness.  Using assorted 3” cutters, cut out cookies and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Gently press a craft stick into the bottom third of each cooked.  Chill cookies for 15 minutes before baking.

 

Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on pan for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool completely.

 

Dye vanilla icing with desired liquid food colors.  Spread icing to ¼ inch from edges of cookies.  Decorate cookies with gel icing and sprinkles if desired.

 

 

 

 

Container Gardening Design Tips

For a big WOW Factor grow plants in hanging baskets, window boxes, troughs, pots, tubs, old shoes and other plant-able containers. Planting up containers also gives you a rewarding and unlimited range of possibilities.–(a neighbor of mine who also raises horses, plants up a manure spreader each season and shows off her blooms beautifully!) Planters can be used to accent a garden or as the garden.

In limited spaces, such as the patio, the porch, lining the stairway or balcony, planted containers produce color beauty and lovely perfumes to mark your home’s entry and/or merely cheer you. Planters can be a nice addition for a large garden as well; offering seasonal color and much needed variety. Container gardening enables you to grow plants you otherwise can not grow in our native soil. Some gardeners do their entire garden in containers.

1. Prepare for drought. You’ll notice that containers dry out a bit faster than plantings in the ground. Any hanging planter or basket dries out very fast with our winds and limited amount of potting soil around the plant’s roots. Drip lines hooked to your automatic sprinklers usually do the trick when the temperatures rise if you can run them for a few minutes 2or 3 times a day.

1. You should always use potting soil for a more nutritious and lighter weight mix rather than just garden soil.
2. You should add polymer to the planting mix one Tablespoon (for an average sized planter) (sold as Soil Moist) which holds the water like little sponges.
3. You should add a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote for a slow but constant release of nutrients to the planting mix before planting.
4. It’s always a good idea to grow compatible plants in the same container. Compatible as far as having similar water needs, nutrient needs and light requirements.
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1. Choosing a container: Keep in mind “contrast” or “blend”. Does it blend or contrast with your home, the pathway or situation.

1. There are many materials to consider: copper, terracotta, plastic, cast stone or concrete, wood, ceramic, wire baskets, lead and iron. Planters must have drainage holes or use an inner planter with drainage.
2. Consider the amount of heat that the container attracts, its durability, weight (blowing over or immovability).
3. Plants that complement the container or a container that complements the plant. You can age a container with moss, paint or vinegar.

1. 

1. Choosing the right plants: most plants are listed as “sun loving” or “shade loving”- usually plants are somewhere in between and can handle more sun and heat if given more water.

1. Determine the heat/light factor first. If you are in full sun, using some drought tolerant plants will make your job much easier. It’s exhausting to keep plants on “life support” for very long….just ask me!

If you are using a copper cauldron, for example, your planter will soon have a beautiful blue green patina. Your planter will look delicious with Helichrysum (licorice plant) trailing out, echeveria (succulent) bold and sturdy, and Eustona (Lizzianthus) a nice contrast with delicate blooms.

1. The color scheme that you are planting will create the mood. Remember to choose plants that: Contrast or Blend, Cool colors or warm colors and plants that have formal or informal formation.
2. You know when you have succeeded because you have created the mood you set out to create!