Quickest blog update ever

I haven't posted in a while because:

1. I've been traveling a lot. (I have only spent about 4 or 5 weekends in S-ville since the beginning of May. Been to Jackson, Atlanta, Kansas City, Birmingham & northern Idaho....which brings me to 2.)
2. Went to northern Idaho to visit the Sandersons. We had fun - Pics are here.
3. Work is absolutly insane. Which means...I'm working all the time....but its all good! But, when I get off, the last thing I want to do is sit down and write a blog...because I've been writing all day long.


That's enough excuses for now. This weekend shall be a ton-o-fun. Football opens against JSU. My ENTIRE family (6 adults, 2 kids & a dog-niece) are coming to visit, but just for one night. It shall be a full house folks! And we're taking Will to his first MSU football game, so that's pretty exciting!

More to come...more to come...Just not sure when...

PS - Started the red door transformation this weekend. BUT...it rained on Sunday, so I didn't get to apply the last two coats. Will post pics when I'm done.

PSS - How have I made it three months and not posted a picture of my beautiful, wonderful niece? Here she is "sunbathing" in her little GAP swimsuit I bought her! A full blown Maggie post will come soon!

LIVE FROM IDAHO (Part 2): Huckleberry Buckle

For some reason every time Jana says "huckleberry buckle" I think of the hokey pokey and start doing a dance in my head. However, huckleberry buckle is in fact not a dance, but a yummy type of cobbler that is local to this part of the country. (I guess...huckleberries are local here.)

What is a huckleberry? Well, its a small, round blue berry that resembles our Mississippi blueberries. Jana swears they have more flavor, and they actually are quite good! However, I hear they are much, MUCH harder to pick than blueberries, so they tend to run on the more expensive side.

So, while on our farmer's market excursion, we picked up some huckleberries to make a fabulously fantastic dessert. I have to say, it was quite good, and Jana and I worked really fast to whip this sucker out! It was a good team effort, and I recommend trying this if you can find huckleberries. If you can't, just substitute blueberries!

Do the "huckleberry buckle" and you turn yourself around....that's what its all about!!!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups huckleberries
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
Add to Recipe Box

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.) Grease the bottom of a 9 inch square pan.
2.In a large bowl, cream 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture. Stir in milk; mixture will be thick and lumpy. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
3.In a large bowl, combine berries, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup boiling water. Pour over the batter in the pan. Dot the top with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
4.Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

Ida-ho! Ida-hi! Ida-like-the-summer-pasta!

Last night Jana and I went to see the movie Julie & Julia, which is based on TWO true stories about one famous and one not-so-famous cook. Being a fan of cooking myself, of course I adored the movie! The film tells the story of two women in their quest to find themselves. It was a great movie to watch with your girlfriends!

In the movie, Julie (the younger character) sets a goal to cook her way through Julia Child's french cookbook for American women who don't have servants. There are over 500 recipes, and Julie spends a year of her life cooking and then blogging about her experience. I wish I could say I got the idea for this blog from the movie, or the book, but, alas, I knew nothing of the story until recently. You can credit the creation of this blog to my mother who requested that I post all of my recipes online.

Anyway, in the spirit of the movie, and after visiting a local farmer's market yesterday, Jana and I decided to blog and cook a new meal. So....here we go with our one-of-a-kind, organically grown, northern Idahoan summer pasta dish.

Ingredients:
1 zucchini squash
1-4 to 1/2 bag of wagon wheel pasta (or whatever you prefer)
1 pint (assorted colors) cherry tomatoes (which, apart from this farmer market, are not NEARLY as yummy)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
rosemary or Italian seasoning to taste
salt and pepper to taste
EVOO (olive oil for you non-Rachael Ray fans)
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best, but you can also use the canned kind)

Directions:
Wash and chop all vegetables in nickel size pieces. Add 1/2 of the tomatoes and zucchini to a skillet and saute in olive oil. Add minced garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Saute vegetables for about 10 minutes, or until zucchini Boil pasta according to directions on package. Drain when done and return to pot or pour in a bowl. Add the other half of the cherry tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes. Pour vegetables in pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and mix. Add a salt and pepper to taste and mix in Parmesan cheese.

Side suggestions: Serve with your choice of meat and garlic bread or salad. We grilled chicken breasts marinated in Italian dressing and lemon juice. You can also shredded the chicken and add it to the pasta before hand, or use shrimp!

Wine paring: This is a very light dish, one that is good to serve as lunch or dinner. I would pair it with a light, fruity wine like a chardonnay.