Designing in Life

Mango Sorbet

It might be winter and it might be cold, but I bet that has never stopped you from eating a tasty frozen dessert.  My new favorite?   Mango sorbet.  And it's so easy to make, it will surprise you.

I found this recipe in the recent issue of Vegetarian Times.

Ingredients:

4 Cups frozen mango

1/4 Cup lime juice

1/2 Cup Agave nectar

(I decided to add the zest of one of the limes, and that was a good decision.)

Thaw mango for 15 minutes.  Put all ingredients in a food processer or blender and mix until smooth.  (It did take me a while to get through the lumps.)  Put sorbet in freezer until you can scoop.

After making this the first time, I went to my local co-op to buy more frozen mango.  To my surprise the shelf was empty.  Maybe everyone else saw the recipe too.  I decided to go to my local grocery store to see if I could find some fresh mango.  Guess what??  They were on sale 10 for $10.  I took them home, peeled sliced and froze them in 2 cup baggies.

Now I'm thinking that I could make this with orange zest and squeezed oranges or grapefruit.  Since I have a supply of frozen magoes in the freezer, it looks like I'll just have to make more and see how it turns out.

 

Septic, Ice and Toxic Fumes...OH MY!

So, in a nutshell...we are afraid there is a septic problem.  Of course this would be on a day that is barely over 0 degrees outside.  We have not heard back from the septic company as of yet.  We had a major water surge in the basement that seems like it's the septic system.  I'm no expert, so if you hear me septic people, get over here.

And speaking of water surges, while away this past weekend there was a fast and furious rainfall, which ran over the icy snow and through the garage.  The temperatures plummeted afterwards, and our garage has 2 inches of ice covering the floor – which means anything on the floor is frozen to the floor.  Nick finally got one of the doors open.

I walked in the door mid-morning to work at home, and thought I had walked into a toxic dump.  While downstairs, Nick encountered a spray can filled with noxious chemicals that you use to re-porcelain a tub that had exploded on the floor.  It took 4 hours to get most of the smell out of here, although if you go outside then come back in, yup, you can still smell it.

We were hoping to have a visit with our Jersey City clan for the weekend, but since we have no idea how many showers (or flushes) will overcome the septic system, we have to wait to hear from the experts...wherever they are.

Catching Up

We had granddaughter, Phoebe, visiting this weekend while her parents and sister went on a little ski excursion.  She is a sweet and very easy little girl.

She entertained us by shopping and making us sandwiches.

And this weekend work was going on to prepare for a laundry room downstairs, and a new bathroom on the main floor.  Unfortunately, the dryer is not on the same floor as the washer...yet.

And look what showed up last night.

Along with this Valentine rose were a beautiful pair of opal earrings (which I happen to be wearing).

And today I'm home sick.  There seems to be great concern that I feel better soon.

But that's because I'm the one who fills the bowl with food!

Heart Shaped Calzones

I love anything that resembles pizza.  Having tried to eliminate as much dairy and wheat from my diet as possible, pizza night is no longer something that is purchased, but something that is made at home.

When I saw the post on Craftzine with instructions by Kristin Fitch, I knew it would be something fun to make, especially since I'll have a little one visiting this weekend. 

Kristin includes a recipe for the dough in the post, but I'll be making this one. (scroll down to May 6, 20010)  If you want to make a great tomato basil sauce, try this recipe.  It's very simple.

I'm just about positive that the big kid in my house will enjoy these as much as the small one.

Get Ready for Love Day

That's what they call Valentine's Day in Puerto Rico.  Well it's really called The Day of Love, but I have friends who winter there, and they call it "Love Day."

If you're trying to find just the right card, how about this one.  It's a vintage card from The Graphic's Fairy, and you can download it here.  There are quite a few to choose from, but I happen to like this one.

I opened it up in Photo Shop and inserted this –

Don't have Photo Shop?  Print it out and write that special person's name on it.

 

 

All in a Vermont Day's Work

The winter saga continues.  We are in the process of getting the first storm of about 2-4 inches, then we're supposed to get clobbered tomorrow with another 6-12.  So, I thought I should make sure the path to our compost bins was cleared out for the umpteenth time in a week.

It isn't that it's so terrible to put on all of your warm clothes and boots to go dump the compost, it's getting there.  The road to the compost pile is right where the snow wants to drift, so it's a continuous effort to keep it cleared.  But I should complain.  I just got this picture from North Dakota in an email.

Now that took some shoveling!