For those who gave All...

We remember them every day... But especially on Memorial Day

weekend, we pay our respect and give Thanks to those who gave all

Gave their own precious lives in defense of America's soul and in the name

of Freedom here and all around this beautiful World and for all people

We fly our Flag every day. However, during the week before

and after Memorial Day, we are proud to fly many flags

As a small token of our appreciation and in Remembrance

This Memorial Day our family honors all of the fallen, and we

especially remember Capt. Kyle Comfort, Sgt. Ronald Kubik,

Sgt. Jason Santora and Cpl. Michael Jankiewicz who deployed

with the Third Ranger Battalion at Ft. Benning, Georgia and who will be

deeply missed during the homecoming Roll Call this July and forever

To read about these special sons please click on their names

May they and all of America's Heroes rest in God's perfect Peace

Please take a moment to visit Freedom Remembered - HERE

Still in need of the Knob!

I've been meaning to get to Sur la Table for weeks to pick up

all the things on my list. So since it was supposed to Storm all

day, and we were both craving PF Chang's, we took a little ride!

The first thing on my list was a Stainless steel knob to

replace the phenolic knob on my new Cassis dutch oven. All

the way to Greensboro, Mr. B teased that we were on the way to

Sur la Table to buy a knob. He even sang his rhyme a couple of times!

The second item on my list was a Stick-blender to replace

my old blender. You see... I've begun mixing up the CLEAN

breakfast shakes every morning, and while the shakes are

great, I simply dread Cleaning my blender every morning!

Sur la Table sells these Cuisinart stick blenders, in pretty

fabulous colors, for only $29.99. And, it comes with a cup!

I meant to grab the Tangerine one. But as it so often goes whenever

I step into my Candyland, aka, Sur la Table, I became distracted

and somehow, I ended up with the Pomegranate color instead

Nevertheless, I love it. It will be Much easier

to clean. And, it takes up Less counter space!

On we go to item #3. You remember this, right? Well, I do still love my 90th

anniversary Kitchenaid mixer. However, as interesting as the embossed glass

bowl is, I find it's often too Heavy after mixing up cake batters, cookie doughs

and icings in it. I also feel like it might break if I were to accidentally bump it

Fortunately, Kitchen Aid offers their stainless steel mixer bowls for

sale separately. So all I had to do was ask Patrick at Sur la Table

which one I needed for my mixer and he Matched me right up!

That's better! I sure wish I had thought of this Before I bought a

second Glass mixing bowl! Anyone need a glass mixing bowl? Ha!

Another thing that bugs me about my new mixer is the

attachments. They're metal and not powder coated like

the attachments that came with the 75th anniversary

Kitchen Aid mixer I own. Something about the bare

metal mixing attachments just doesn't feel right to

me. So item #4 was this paddle Mixing scraper!

After we left Sur la Table, while I wandered the Farmer's Market for

everything I need to make Tracy Anderson's turkey and kale soup is when

it hit me that I really should have written my list for Sur la Table down... Why?

Because somehow I managed to leave Without getting the knob at Sur la Table!

By the way! You must pop on over to Congratulate my sweet

friend Teresa (here!) on the Present her wonderful hubby gave her!

Find of the Day!

When I came downstairs this afternoon I found These in the kitchen!

A bold step from the man who calls Me

a, Flower murderer every time I fill a vase!

After lunch and Shopping we stopped at the Greensboro Farmer's Market

Where we picked up lots of Summer corn! For dinner, I boiled

the cobs for 5 minutes, then wrapped them in foil with a drizz

of olive oil, a pat of Butter and a pinch of salt and pepper

And out to the Grill we go!

Okay!! Find of the day time! After the farmer's

market we stopped at Antique Marketplace where I

discovered this sweet little Aplico casserole for only $20

Aplico! As in Williams-Sonoma, where one Aplico soup

bowl costs $30. So this casserole for $20 was a Steal! 

How much of a steal? Click here to find out! I think it

looks fine here on the kitchen Island next to big-bunny! 

Unfortunately, it leaves poor Willie-pig of

Carmel off the island and out on his own now...

The most Amazing friend

Today was one of those rough Army Mom days... It had been a few days

since I heard from the Ranger and I couldn't shake the feeling that something

wasn't quite right. I could not find sleep until almost 2AM, which is Exactly the

time I decided to give up the worry and asked God to help deliver some. This

morning the praying continued... I begged for a Call or e-mail and later, for the

ability not to feel the urge to Sleep at my desk. I didn't get a call but I did get

several really great e-mails letting me Know he was okay. Those e-mails made

my day and I am counting on being able to recall Brandon's words tonight to

help get me through the Hours when I'll be alone with my thoughts. Alone...

It's often the way I feel as I navigate the feelings and fear and Uncertainty of

this Mom of a deployed Ranger adventure that I'm living. Fortunately, my

mom and dad and all my Amazing friends are plugged into what I'm going

through because Mom called, and then I checked the mail and found this...

It's a package of Very meaningful cookies, and a lovely card from my dearest

friend, Monica. We've never met in person. We know each other through

our Blogs and our shared passion for our families and fooding. Monica is a

kind and generous soul. She is a Patriot, and above all, she is a mother

who Understands the pain of worrying about the well being of a child

She has sent Brandon care packages to Afghanistan because he

is my son. And, because he is a soldier and Monica appreciates the

sacrifices he is making so that people around the world can be Safe

Even when he's not

Summer Pizza... Mystery Solved!

The summer Pizzas I made last night were really great. But

something was Missing. Something wasn't quite right. The dough

was off. And, I knew it but I couldn't put my finger on it. The pizza

dough recipe I pulled off the Internet said it was the Cuisinart pizza

dough recipe but it just didn't Perform the way I'm used to. So when

I got home tonight I pulled out my Recipe book. And guess what!?

The Internet Lied! The Cuisinart recipe I used last night is so much

different from the recipe in my booklet. How can that be? But it's

true! The on-line recipe calls for far Less flour and a whole package

of yeast. My booklet, page-35 recipe on the other hand, calls for just

1.5 teaspoons of yeast, and a half-cup More flour! Trust me...

The Cuisinart, (real) booklet recipe is Soooo much better!

I hadn't planned on making Pizzas again tonight. But when I

walked in the door from work Mr. B said, I noticed you have lots

of cheese left over and there's still half of the bell Pepper left, so are

we having Pizza again tonight? And, since I believe the secret to

a happy and Long marriage is being able to recognize a request

disguised as a question, I said, Sure we are! Besides, I needed...

An opportunity to Figure out my dough problem any way!

See that!? I didn't get that beautiful puffy Rise out of my dough last night!

Achieving that volume makes a Huge difference!

Want to see?

There it is!

That's twice the height of my Crust last night!

While this crust is high, it's Light and crispy,

not dense and heavy. Which is the way we prefer it!

Back to tomato and Basil with red onion for me

Because I'm predictable that way...

Predictable, meaning I know what I like!

Thank Goodness I went back to my recipe booklet!

If you would like the Recipe for this fantastic

pizza dough, send an e-mail to jcbridge@aol.com

Summer Pizzas!

When I walked by the Garden on my way to work this morning and

saw the huge flush of Basil I knew I'd be doing this for dinner tonight!

See those small tomatoes there? They are

our very First garden tomatoes of the year!

Now that the veg is scrubbed up it's time to make Pizza dough!

You know the Yeast is ready when the

kitchen begins to Smell like beer!

And you know the dough is ready when it Pulls away from the bowl

While the dough was Rising I prepared the cheese

Yum!

All I need to be happy is Basil and tomatoes!

I'll have just enough time to prepare my pizzas while the stone Heats up 

Punched down and cut into Two pieces, the dough I made is just enough!

Dough is amazing, isn't it?

Rolling my cookies between parchment Works so well

for me, I thought I'd do my Pizza dough the same way!

See? It worked as well as I knew it would!

Funny how a man will always say Pepperoni

when you ask what he Wants on his pizza!

Look! The ducks are here for their Dinner too. I hope

they don't think what I have on the Grill is for them!

No pizza for you!

Pizza is for people!

Especially Good Pizza!

I hope they Understand... It's nothing personal!

If you're not making pizza on the Grill like this...

You really should!

There's nothing like it!

I tried to pick a pepper off his pizza but the Cheese is giving me away!

Onto my own pizza now... I don't care for Tomato sauce. As

much as I love tomatoes, I prefer my pizza without it!

Plain old tomato, Basil and mozzarella for me!

On a perfectly Grilled pizza crust!

To check out other Grilled pizzas I've made, click Here