Wednesday Fun #138 - I scream, you scream...

Happy Official Summer to you all! And it wouldn't be summer around here without the ice cream truck comin' 'round. With its song. And the resulting excitement and begging. :)

That's ok - growing up in the country, an ice cream truck is still an exciting novelty to me. So we do sometimes get ice cream (even though, oh, the prices!) Penguin almost always gets the same thing - a Dora-shaped ice cream bar with gumball eyes. Pumpkin usually gets something new - an ice cream sandwich, a crunch bar, a chocolate brownie cone... Me? Well, I usually just take a taste of the girls, but I'm a die-hard ice-cream-chocolate-combo girl, so I go for the classic ice cream sandwich, or drumstick, or similar.

How about you? If the ice cream truck
comes calling, what might you get?

Wednesday Fun #137 - How well do you know your spring veg?

Last Thursday we got our first CSA box of the year! Hooray! As always, the first boxes tend to be lighter, so it's about what we expected. Now that it's our third year with this, we can often identify everything in our box right away, but I wonder how many you can get. Granted, we can touch, taste & smell these all & you're going from a picture, but I wonder...

...how many of these items can YOU name?
(Bonus points for #4 possible since there are several kinds here.)

Wednesday Fun #136 - Memorable Matrimonial Meals

This past weekend Mr. Kluges and I attended a wedding. It was a very nice wedding with the reception held at a fancy golf course & country club. Main dishes were sea bass, chicken stuffed with crab, or prime rib. Nice!

So when I got to thinking about this week's WF, I was wondering about what outstanding or memorable wedding reception meals you've had. Any real stand-outs? Maybe extra fancy or creative & fun or incredibly thematic or even amazingly awful... Let's hear about it!

Maple Dressing and Poppy Seed Dressing

Ok, this doesn't fit the theme this month or last month or really anything, other than I was typing these up for someone else and I thought, "Hey! I could post these recipes too!" And you know, it's summer now, you might want to eat a salad. :)

Maple Dressing

1/4 C. Mayonnaise (do not use miracle whip*)

1/4 C. Pure Maple syrup

3 Tbs. White Wine Vinegar

3 Tbs. Sugar

1/2 C. Vegetable oil

+ Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend first 4 ingredients. Then slowly whisk in the vegetable oil last, then season to taste. Keep in a container you can shake to mix before using. Makes 6 servings.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 C. Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

1/4 C. White Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp. Dry mustard

1/2 C. Olive Oil

1/2 C. Canola Oil

3 Tbs. Mayonnaise

41/2 Tsp. Poppy Seeds

1 Tbs. Onion Juice

Mix: Sugar, Salt, Mustard, and Vinegar until blended

Add: Olive oil, Canola oil and onion juice mix until blended

Add Mayonnaise & Poppy seeds last - you will have to stir a bit to incorporate the mayo

Throw in some cooked chicken and grapes and the Poppy seed dressing makes for an interesting sort of chicken salad as well.

June Theme - Starchy Side Dishes

Hello, all & happy June! As I was pondering a theme for this month, my eyes wandered along the tags over there to the right, and I noticed that we've only got about 10 things tagged as starchy side dishes.* Now I know we've got more than 10 potato or noodle or rice recipes that we make. Not that they are usually as glamorous or exciting as a fancy main dish, but it's sure nice to have some good staple side dishes to be able to round out a meal, or bring to a potluck (or Thanksgiving dinner), or just eat for a meatless/meat-light supper.

Currently, we have

• The Garlic Fries I just posted. Cooking Light & French fries? Really? Yes!!!
• Or you could make their Sweet Potato Spears.
  
• Cauliflower & Potato Gratin via The Wednesday Chef. Delicious.
• We should all make Diplowhat's Swiss Potato Casserole, if for no other reason than she can't get the ingredients to make it herself.
• Do Bruleed Mashed Sweet Potatoes count as a starch or a veg? I couldn't decide, so I tagged it with both.
• Nectarine's Crockpot Mashed Potatoes look perfect for a big get-together or potluck!
• Syl's Crockpot Mac & Cheese looks like another winner!
  
• And who can forget about Pusher's Bloggy Potatoes?! Not us!

So, how about it? Can you find a starchy side dish recipe to share this month?




*I know it's kind of a funny name, but that's how I divide it up in my own recipe box - "starchy side dishes" like Potatoes Anna, rice pilaf, stuffing, etc. vs. "vegetable side dishes" like green bean casserole, roasted beets, brown-sugar carrots, and so forth.