Parsley Salad with Red Onion and Mandarin Dressing

 

1 bunch of Italian or flat leaf parsley

3 cherry tomatoes

1 small red onion

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 fresh sweet mandarin or tangerine

Salt and pepper

Directions: Wash parsley in cold water and pat dry. Using a sharp knife cut the leaves from the stems, until you have approximately 2 cups of parsley leaves. Reserve the stems for another use. It is not necessary to dice the leaves as they are in bite size portions. Wash cherry tomatoes and dry. Slice the tomatoes. Place parsley and tomatoes in a salad bowl and toss.

Red onion and mandarin dressing

If onion is recently from the ground wash and remove outer skin; otherwise simply remove the outer skin. Dice onion. Place olive oil and onion in small pan and sauté. Cut the mandarin in half. When onion is limp, squeeze the mandarin juice into the onion and olive oil. Stir and cook for a minute longer; cool slightly and pour on greens and tomatoes.

Serves 2 people.

Notes: This is a refreshing summer salad.

Cake visual

Happy Birthday to one and all!

This cake was drawn in response to the prompt, parma purple from Colour Collective

Cheers!

 

Summer Turkey Sandwich

 

8 slices pumpernickel bread

12-16 ounces turkey, grilled, smoked or roasted

Sprig of fresh dill

Sprig of fresh parsley

Mayonnaise

Dijon mustard

Directions: Wash and pat dry the dill and parsley. Remove softer dill leaves from the fibrous main stem. Then, assemble the above ingredients into four sandwiches. Do keep the mayonnaise refrigerated as well as all the other ingredients.

Serves 4 people.

Notes: The fresh parsley and dill make this one of the finest turkey sandwiches. It is especially important to keep anything with mayonnaise well chilled.

Hummingbird Nectar

 

¼ cup white sugar

1 cup water

Directions: Pour water and sugar together in a small pan; stir over heat until sugar dissolves; continue to heat until just boiling. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool completely.

Pour sugar water into a very clean hummingbird feeder. Hang the feeder outside. Change the nectar or sugar water every couple of days. Please do not add dye or food coloring to the water.

Hummingbirds will also eat gnats and fruit flies which they can find on their own.

Enjoy the feathered friends.

Please see below for additional information on hummingbirds:

Backyard hummingbirds in the Rockies

Hummingbird habitat in Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota This is an informative booklet from the USDA with information on plants for hummingbirds and interesting facts such as the male calliope weighs as much as a penny and is the smallest bird in North America.

Audubon

Smithsonian National Zoo 

Grilled Cheese with Olive Tapenade

 

1 slice wheat bread

Jarred olive tapenade or a chopped olive condiment

1 slice Provolone cheese

Directions: Spread olive mixture on wheat bread. Top with slice of Provolone cheese. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Serves 1 person

Notes: Grilled cheese variation 5

The Provencal, South of France, word for capers is tapenas. Tapenade refers to a mixture of chopped or pureed olives, olive oil and capers with additional possible ingredients or different main ingredients. 

 Learn more about tapenade here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapenade