Summer Salad Delite

Hello to everyone. It has been way to long since my last post.

As summer approaches the last place I like to be is in the house. The thought of working in a hot kitchen is a sad one. We live on salads most of the summer. Here is a great salad recipe for those hot summer nights. It has become a family favorite through out the years. Courtesy of my sister Steph here is a yummy treat. If you love garlic you will love this one. Enjoy!

GERMAN GARLIC SALAD

Ingredients:

1-2 heads of butter lettuce
4 or more cloves garlic
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

Combine everything in a container and shake well. Pour it over the butter lettuce and serve. The salad dressing will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Enjoy the salad and I will keep the recipes coming through the season. Love and Light Colleen.

A Place Of Beauty

Good day to everyone and the very best for 2006.

Today’s post is on a place close to home, Heffley Lake. Just 30 minutes North of Kamloops, British Columbia Heffley Lake offers year round activities. If you are looking for a little R & R and a vast selection of outdoor activities, this area of British Columbia is the place for you. There are a couple of resorts on the lake:

Heffley Lake Resort and The Hitch n Rail

There are Bed and Breakfast’s, a forestry campground, and the Heffley Creek Store is just 15 minutes down the road. Here is a picture of Heffley Lake courtesy of my dear friend Sonya. Friends in the peddle boat Summer 2005.

Approximately 30 minutes up the road from Heffley Lake there is Sun Peaks Ski Resort (see links on the side bar). They offer great skiing during the winter months, a golf course and mountain biking in the summer. This area of B.C. is beautiful and there are moments when mother nature takes your breath away.

I fell in love with this place 10 years ago and am thankful to have this playground for year round leisure. I have shared many picnics at the day use area, floated sunny days around the lake and have watched my friends children learn how to swim. During the winter there is ice fishing and the ambiance of the winter fire and marshmallow roast. The crisp winter air, hot tottie in hand and the laughter. These are some of my experiences at Heffley Lake. I am thankful to live in the great outdoors. There is a different smell to the air and the noise pollution is almost non existent. Check out the links to the resorts and have a wonderful day. Love and Light Colleen.

A Taste of Mexico

Good day to all today is a short post. Can you guess what it will be? That's right a recipe. Smiles. This one is a family favorite it is Taco Beef , Chicken or Veggie Ground Round.

1 pound of ground beef , chicken or veggie ground round.
1 can of black beans or kidney beans rinsed.
1 onion diced.
1 clove - bulb of garlic minced.
2 stalks of celery diced.
2 carrotts peeled and diced.

Brown the ground beef or chicken. If you use lean meat add olive oil to the frying pan. You can set the meat aside and saute onions, celery, carrotts, and garlic until the onions carmalized. Add the ground meat or veggie ground round back into the frying pan and add the beans, saute until the pan is hot and add:

1 cup of water or flavored base (knorr, oxo etc...).
1 Tbsp - desired amount of chili powder.
1 Tbsp - desired amount of garlic powder.
Salt and pepper to taste.
A good dash of worchshire sauce (optional).

Let the pan simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistancy. Serve on nachos, tacos or what ever mexican dish you might think of. We often add this blend to a bed of rice and voila. Yummy! For an authentic taste of Mexico add a bunch of chopped cilantro to the mix. You can also add frozen corn to the mix for extra flavor. You can also serve this with fresh salsa or guacamole see my previous post entitled Garden Treasures. To make chopping easy they sell these little electric food choppers in most appliance sections. They are a dream for any thing needed in small quantities. I fill mine twice for this recipe. Enjoy. Have a most wonderful day Love and Light to all Colleen.