Happy Friday

Happy Friday My Fine Feathered Friends

From this point until the weekend {March 2-4} the TEN TEENs are with us 

a whole lot of auto posting will be going on here.

Please say a little prayer for us that we will care for these kids in the best way

 possible and have fun doing it.

I will visit and comment between baking, planning, and more cleaning.

joy and peace

Olive

House Plants

I spent yesterday fiddling with this and that.

 Sunny, sunny 74 degree weather. 

Perfect for digging in the garden.

Or.

Potting houseplants.

I placed this Kimberly Queen fern in the Haeger planter. 

It had no drainage hole so I shattered a chipped terracotta pot and placed about two inches 

of the shards in the bottom of the planter creating some drainage.

Indoor ferns do well in low filtered light, about what you would require to read a book.

The odd pictures in the fireplace were found at a local thrift store and are from the 1940's we believe.

I bought this curly variety of snake plant at a neighbor's plant sale last year. 

It has tripled in size and filled the planter I placed it in. 

It really is effortless to care for. 

I water it once a week.

It is in the window seat at present but it has been in a darker room and was happy there as well.

I also planted more ivy. We shall be over run with ivy very soon.

joy and peace

Olive

Strata

I have been testing breakfast recipes in anticipation of the arrival of TEN TEENAGERS on the weekend of March 2-4. Joe is the taste tester. He suffers through it if he must. The strata above was adapted from a Country Living magazine recipe in the January issue this year.

Tomato-Cheddar Strata with Broccoli

• 4 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes (about three quarters of a French loaf)
• Butter, for greasing dish
• 6 ounces shredded Cheddar (about 1 1/2cups)
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 8 large eggs
• 3 cups milk ( I left this out of the original post edited on 2/26/12 see why I should not do this?)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 ounces ricotta cheese (about 1/2 cup

• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1. Place bread in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Top with 1 cup cheese, broccoli, tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon parsley.
2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over bread and gently press to soak every cube. Add dollops of ricotta over top. Sprinkle strata with herbs de Provence and remaining Cheddar. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or up to overnight.

Remove strata from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about one hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until strata is puffed and lightly golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My Notes:

I used mozzarella because I had a lot and it is lower in fat. 
I had no ricotta cheese or parsley so I left them out. 
 It tasted light and delicious and Joe loved it.
It was quick and easy to make.
I cook all the time but sharing recipes makes me anxious for some reason.
Must work on this.

♥♥♥

Thank you for your comments yesterday about the camellias 

and yes they came from our flower garden.  

Our red ones are just about to bloom.

joy and peace

Olive

{curtains&camellias}

Pink Camellias have made their way inside to the kitchen island.

One delightful outcome of adding this humble vintage piece is that 

 it is in a fabulously sunny spot for photographs.

You have been forewarned my darlings.

Last night I ironed those tab cafe curtains in the window. 

We found them at the Catholic Thrift Store for a few dollars. 

The window needed some softening.

They need hemming but for now they can be as 

caddy wampus as the island and me for that matter.

Here is a close up of the pattern.

 I like it and they are from Ikea from the worn label.

 The camellias almost look like three fluffy cupcakes.

We feel as if our little kitchen received a mini low budget make over. 

It feels very cozy and we both can chop vegetables within a foot of the sink and cook together.

And Dear Lord, I might share a recipe tomorrow. 

That scares me by the way.

joy and peace

Olive