RENOVATIONS

This summer along with the other neglected projects, we decided to give our dated bathroom a new face. By removing the old shower and replacing it with a corner shower unit we gained, at the least, visually more room. Here are the before and after pictures.

 

 

STUFFED VEGETABLES

 

VEGETABLES  STUFFED WITH RICE

 

I make these stuffed vegetables for summer picnics, backyard BBQ's and for pot luck dinners. They are healthy and not too difficult to make. For this recipe I used eggplants, tomatoes and peppers. You could also use, zucchini and onion (practically anything that can be hollowed out ). Choose small and tender vegetables if you can. They cook faster.

 

 

  Ingredients:

1/3 cup currents
1/4 cup pignoli nuts
1 large onion chopped
1 tsps allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried mint
1/3 cup of olive oil
2 cups of water
1 cup of rice
salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the vegetables:
For eggplants: Cut eggplants in half. Hollow out the centers using a scooper or a spoon (grapefruit spoon works well) .
For peppers: cut the tops off  just underneath the stems (save them for later use) rinse them under the sink to rid them from the seeds.
For tomatoes: same as above. Save the tops for caps for later use. (Chop the fleshy part of the tomato to mix in with rice).


In a pot saute chopped onions, pignoli nuts and currents in 1 cup olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add rice, spices, herbs (salt and pepper) and 1 cup of water. Cook until all the water is absorbed (rice will be half cooked). Let it cool and spoon loosely to fill the vegetables.

 



 
 


 

 

Arrange filled vegetables in a deep pot, touching  each other closely (they'll cook better) and  add  reserved water and oil. Close lid and cook for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are soft.

 



JUST STOPPING BY

I'm just popping in to say hello to all my friends.  I've been away for a long time. Let me update you without being boring. During my absence I was busy taking care of my elderly parents, working and trying to keep everybody happy. I have two elderly parents. You may remember them from my previous entry when their house was flooded during  storm Irene two years ago. Dad has a PhD degree in engineering from Purdue University, Indiana. He is an accomplished man. He is and has been a very smart businessman all his life, but his Parkinson's disease, his advanced age and Alzheimer's disease are effecting his brilliant mind. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a petulant child yet at other times he appears to be his old brilliant self. He has not yet accepted his age and illnesses. He keeps telling me that he is capable of doing everything himself and doesn't need any help, a trait he had all his life. A few months ago his neurologist referred him for consultation with another doctor who turned out to be of no help, merely a pill pusher. He gave  my father such heavy medication that it would've killed a horse. Instead of getting better he was deteriorating. We changed doctors, medication and started afresh. It worked. He is now as lucid as he can be and enjoying his days.
While I was busy helping my father, my mother fell in her home and broke her right shoulder bone. This debilitating injury was followed by double pneumonia for which she was hospitalized twice, and entered a rehabilitation center. After returning home from rehab she then suffered a mini stroke.
My parents are doing much better now. However, my duties aren't finished yet. I'm  still going their house almost everyday before or after work or for an entire day.  They look forward to my visits.  

            These lovely butterflies have been visiting our garden this summer!

 



HAPPY PASSOVER AND HAPPY EASTER MY FRIENDS,  WISHING YOU ALL A VERY  HAPPY AND HEALTHY SPRINGTIME.   I HOPE TO START BLOGGING AGAIN SOON...