Quick Dip

Remember how I said I was going to put strawberries in this star-shaped dish for the Fourth of July? I know it's been a while, but I didn't forget!

So without further ado, I present to you a quick and easy dip to make for serving with strawberries. It involves a total of 2 ingredients: yogurt and brown sugar.

My mom used to make this with sour cream, which you could certainly use, but since I didn't have any on hand, I used some plain lowfat yogurt.

In order to give the dip a creamier texture, I drained the water off the yogurt by placing a cone-shaped coffee filter inside an empty yogurt container, dumping some yogurt into the filter, and leaving it in the fridge for a day or so.

The result is a thicker yogurt that will stand up to dipping. This is the most important step in my opinion, so don't skip it! Although, you might be able to get by without straining it first if you use Greek yogurt.

I then added about a tablespoon of brown sugar to taste to the 1/2 cup or so of the yogurt. You can use this technique to make all sorts of savory dips for vegetables, just substitute dill or mint or cilantro or whatever you have on hand for the sugar. Let your tongue be your guide as far as how much flavor you want to have. Wait, I'm not sure that came out right.

Anyhoo...Is it okay if I double-dip if it's just me?

Workin' with Whatcha Got

Please forgive me for yesterday's absence. See, I went to hear Dr. Temple Grandin speak about animal behavior and autism. She is the author of a number of books; her most recent one being "Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals." Dr. Grandin is certainly a perfect example of making the most of what you have.

But I'm not here to talk about her. Not just yet, anyway. You see, yesterday's speech was a fundraiser for Tender Loving Canines, which I've talked about before. And they handed out a lovely portfolio with a notepad inside and a bag of M&Ms attached. And I had some peanuts in my purse.

So you know what I did? You guessed it. I made my own peanut M&Ms. And this is, of course, no real accomplishment compared to Dr. Grandin's success, but I thought maybe I could try to entertain you with some candy and blabbering while I got together my notes from her lecture. I think I might need to try a little bit harder though.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a tree. And this tree bore beautiful fruit-lucious, juicy apricots.

And then one spring, some Creature(s) of the Night (CotN)came along and et them.

The CotN et pretty much all of them, except a select few.

Oh, apricot, is that a tear I see? Are you weeping for your ill-fated friends? Or is that a tear of joy?

Because I had big plans for you. Yes, indeedy, I did.

A Belated Message from Tucker & Lucy

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."

-Abraham Lincoln

Tucker, do you care to start us in a rendition of "America the Beautiful"? Howl together now.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day! Yesterday I posted a quick and easy craft project for decorating your table for the holidays. Today I'd like to share some other ways to get your table ready for all those hot dogs. And corn and ribs and lemonade, and whatever else you are dishing up for the holidays. I'm getting hungry just thinking about all that delicious food.

The red placemats were originally used for Christmas, as they have green mates. But I just used the red ones. If you had some blue placemats for Hanukkah celebrations, those would work too. I grabbed some white napkins (I usually like to have decorating stuff that is neutral so that you can work them into any scheme), tied them with a simple raffia knot, and that completed the look for the place settings.

On the table, I also added some small flags in mason jars and larger ones in a blue vase. I picked them up on sale for a total of $3 for 6 small flags and 2 larger ones at my local craft store. I also put out some candles in varying heights and different candle holders to complete the look. It took me all of 5 minutes to put this together.

Please be aware that I do not intend to light these candles, as they could create a fire hazard with the flags in such close proximity. But if I wanted to light them, I would make sure that the flags were clear out of the way. It is important to keep these precautions in mind when decorating a table.

I bought these sunflowers at the Farmers' Market for $3, and I cut the blue agapanthus from a plant in the yard that had the great foresight to be in bloom for today's holiday. If it were possible for plants to have foresight, that is. Add a simple raffia bow, and voilà! This arrangement gives the space some much needed height.

You could also try adding some other natural elements to the table. Here, I've replaced the flags with a grouping of lemons. This might be a good alternative if you want to light the candles on the table.

Oh, and I plan to fill up that blue star-shaped dish on the right with strawberries. Again, I didn't spend much on decorating this table. Factoring in the cost of the sunflowers for a side arrangement, I shelled out a total of $6 because I just used what I already had. However, I stopped by a local thrift store yesterday afternoon, and there were a number of inexpensive blue, red or white dishes that could have worked well for this table. So if you don't have supplies on hand, definitely explore those venues.

Perhaps you could use the lemons to create a place card for the table? I am undecided about these. What do you think? Other thoughts and suggestions for creating a themed table?

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Have a safe and wonderful holiday.