We both have wonderful 4th of July memories of fireworks at Blunt Park in Springfield, MA, and Hubbard Park in Meriden, CT, picnics and celebrations with family and friends. We are pleased that our featured image is a combination of our holiday decor and some we inherited from Kevin’s mom, Irene. She shared our love of decorating! This year, we are especially glad to salute our country, in light of the recent historic Supreme Court decision granting marriage equality to all!

HOLIDAY WREATH      

                                                                                 

 

                                                             

 

 

We made this easy wreath by attaching inexpensive artificial red, white and blue carnations to a wire wreath form. We trimmed the stems to 1- and 2-inch pieces and used them to attach the blossoms to the two rings of the form, then embellished the wreath with a patriotic bow. Using dollar store materials, we made this decoration for about $8.00!

 

 

 

POTATO SALAD

 

We have developed this potato salad over the years. It’s a tasty and healthier version than most recipes. The big change came a couple of years ago when we were making a batch of potato salad and realized we had only about 1/2 of the potatoes needed. We improvised by defrosting a bag of frozen cauliflower and adding it to the potatoes. We have seen recipes for cauliflower as a potato substitute for years but, frankly, we really weren’t interested. We made the salad and it was delicious, better than expected. Now cauliflower is a regular part of our potato salad, resulting in fewer carbs and calories. This recipe makes a big batch. The picture of the finished dish is only half of the recipe!

You will need: 3 lbs. Yukon gold or white potatoes, 1 lb. frozen cauliflower, 6 hard-boiled eggs, 2 stalks celery, 1 small onion, 2 and 1/2 cups mayo (we use low-fat Hellmann’s), 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard, 1 tablespoon white vinegar.

• Peel and chop potatoes into 3/4 inch pieces. Cook potatoes and frozen cauliflower in the same pot until fork tender. They should be ready 15-20 minutes after they come to a boil.
• Drain and spread potatoes and cauliflower on sheet pan and place in the refrigerator (shown). This is a great way to quick-cool these items.
• Put quartered onion and halved celery into food processor. Pulse 8 times or until roughly chopped. Combine in bowl with mayo, mustard and vinegar and set aside.
• Peel and chop eggs.
• When potatoes and cauliflower are cool, combine with eggs and dressing/veggie combo.
• Allow to cool 2 hours.
• Mix well, serve cold. Enjoy!

PATRIOTIC CHIP & DIP

Red pepper/chickpea dip and white bean/rosemary dip served with blue tortilla chips make a tasty, patriotic appetizer combo that salutes America’s melting pot!

Our Red Pepper/Chickpea Dip is similar to hummus but has no sesame paste (not that there’s anything wrong with it)!

You will need: 1/2 of a 24 oz. jar of roasted red peppers; one 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest; juice of 1/2 lemon; 1/4 cup olive oil; hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Place all ingredients into food processor, process until smooth (about 10 seconds), chill and enjoy!

Check out this link for a great white bean dip. Kevin likes it with extra rosemary. We use 1/2 of the raw garlic listed.

http://www.food.com/recipe/white-bean-and-rosemary-garlic-spread-dip-140369

These dips go great with blue chips and/or crudite!

HOLIDAY DESSERTS

Here are some red, white and blue desserts which would make great endings for any Independence Day celebrations!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2015/06/26/red-white-blue-and-cool-desserts-for-your-fourth-of-july-cookout-no-flag-cake-required/

GARDEN UPDATE

We picked the first 3 full-grown Shishito peppers from our garden. We had 4 mature peppers, but, unfortunately, a bird or some other creature got to one before we did. We sautéed the three peppers whole and combined with zucchini slices – a delicious side dish!

Marigold bloom!

One of our marigold plants, which we started from seed, has bloomed!

JOKE OF THE WEEK  

What did Polly the Parrot want for the 4th of July? A firecracker!                                              source: Jokes by kids

ENJOY!!!

Roy and Kevin

SPORTS UPDATE: The U.S. women’s soccer team has reached the finals of the World Cup after beating #1 ranked Germany, 2-0, in the semi-finals. They will be in the finals on Sunday against Japan in a re-match of the last Cup finals, which Japan won. A U.S. win would be the perfect ending to the Independence Day weekend! GO USA!!!