HAPPY CINCO de MAYO

This post is several days over-due; however, Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays.  I love the celebrations and the food.  Here is my recipe for 
                                       Bean Enchiladas.

Start with a fresh flour tortilla.

Add warm refried beans to the right side of the tortilla.  I always use the non-fat kind that come in a can.

 Next, add some chopped white onions.

 On top of the onions, add your favorite salsa or picante sauce.

Add some shredded cheddar cheese - whatever amount suits you.  I use the reduced fat type.

Next, I add a few teaspoons of reduced-fat sour cream.

Roll up the filled tortillas and place seam-side down in a dish that has about one cup of enchilada sauce poured evenly over the bottom.

Cover the enchiladas completely with your favorite enchilada sauce.  I make my sauce with a packaged mix.  You can also find enchilada sauce in a can.

For a final touch, cover with more shredded cheddar cheese.  And if you like onions as much as I do, add a few more chopped onions.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes till everything is heated through and the cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!!

It Has to Be The Fifties!

The classic 50s lunch: a hamburger and french fries, served on a Melamine plate on a TV tray, with a checkered napkin and a chocolate milkshake served in one of those frosted highball glasses with a carousel motif.  The little girl brought her Tiny Tears doll to lunch, too!

Shrimp Cocktail with Celadon Hawaiian Napkins

HAPPY EASTER

This is a collage of Easter through the last few years... it is fun to unpack those special decorations from years gone by and to add a few new ones.

Asian: New and Old



Blue on blue... a perfect setting for homemade egg drop soup.



 The wonderful  thing about this table setting is how it combines the new with the old.  The inspiration for this tablescape is the relatively new set of beautiful blue bowls, a gift from friends in Hawaii.  What I also love is the way I used old 1950s hand-sewn, hand-embroidered, hand-appliqued paper lantern motif tea towels as the place mats.   The Japanese decorative squares of red and blue were a gift to me in the 90s from a friend who had family and business ties to Japan. 

 The little Lladro figurine is marked on the bottom "1984" and was a gift from my husband to his mother who loved all things Asian.

Wonderful, delicious and hot chicken & vegetable egg rolls right out of the cooking oil complement perfectly the egg drop soup.  So tasty!  Like all things homemade, they take time but they are worth it!

 The hand-stitched napkins were my mother's, purchased in the late 1930s or early 1940s, imported to the Dutch West Indies, straight from China. 

 The small book about walking meditation was a very recent gift from my forever friend, Barbara.

The old Sake set was my husband's, purchased long ago, possibly in Viet Nam during the war or on a later business trip to Asia in the late 80s. 

The Asian-inspired table and chairs set, with it's inset of Chinese characters painted on tile, the cain-backed chairs and the real bamboo table and chair legs, were a favorite of my late mother-in-law.  The little blue Japanese dishes were a splurge of mine when I lived in Hawaii.  The orchid in the blue vase, a reminder of Hawaii, too.  Aloha `oe, lyrics and music by Queen Liliuokalani. 
Chorus:

Farewell to you, farewell to you

The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers

One fond embrace,

'Ere I depart

Until we meet again

Sweet memories come back to me

Bringing fresh remembrances

Of the past

Dearest one, yes, you are mine own

From you, true love shall never depart

Signature Salad and Polish Serving Dishes

This is a salad I make for friends that is requested again and again: Romaine lettuce, celery, green onions, cucumbers, mandarin orange slices, topped with roasted sliced almonds and served with a homemade slightly sweet and sour dressing.

Beautiful Polish serving dishes.

Tea For One