Azoresgal~Life on an Island

Yesterday,I had my wonderful girlfriends over for lunch. I am blessed to know these fantastic women. I love our lunches, they start early, and almost always run late into the evening. There is always incredible food, chilled Rosé, lots of conversation, some tears, and plenty of laughter. It is a great pleasure to cook for them. I found this recipe a couple of weeks ago, and knew as soon as I saw it, I wanted to make it for our the next time we had lunch together. It is divine, creamy, rich, delicious ! INGREDIENTS: FOR THE CRUST 16 Oreo cookies 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted FOR THE FILLING 1 cup heavy cream 8 ounces cream cheese 1 cup creamy-style peanut butter 1 cup confectioner's sugar 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1. Place the Oreo cookies into the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter and stir. 2. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individ...

So many lovely things growing in our vegetable garden. This year I am really excited about the arugula ! Seriously really...really excited ! I don´t know why we never grew it before, instead of buying it at the grocery store. The seeds are so very tiny, it is quite amazing to see them transform into leaves, so quickly.Just need to pick them everyday, while they are small, otherwise, the peppery flavor gets stronger.Our strawberries are coming in as well, not to many at a time, as they are all new plants this year. But I was over the moon to be able to put these two together, and make a wonderful litttle salad. handfull of strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 bunch arugula, washed, dried, and trimmed 1 green onion sliced handfull of walnut halves salt and pepper to taste In a small bowl, whisk together tablespoon balsamic vinegar with the olive oil and salt and pepper. To the strawberries, add vinaigr...

If it's wrong to eat Clam fritters cold out of the fridge, for breakfast, than I don't want to be right ! I made these wonderful, crispy , fluffy, fritters yesterday, in the afternoon. Oh my goodness why have I not made these before ? They are lovely with a little lemon juice, and served with a salad. Hope you give them a try ! 1 cup flour 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 2 eggs 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1⁄3 cup clam juice (reserved from clams)(or water) 1⁄4 cup milk 1 tbsp. melted butter Pinch cayenne 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley 2 1//2 cups clams, coarsely chopped (canned,or fresh, or frozen) Salt and freshly ground black pepper Vegetable oil 1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Whisk in eggs, lemon juice, clam juice, milk, butter, and cayenne, whisking until batter is smooth. Add parsley and clams, then season with salt and pepper. Mix well. 2. Add vegetable oil to a heavy skillet, to a depth of 1⁄8...

DELICIOUS! Sweet, tangy and crisp. A very satisfying salad. So very easy to make, and oh so versatile. Everytime I make this salad, someone always asks for the recipe. It is fantastic for BBQ's and picnics, there is no mayo involved, so no worries about spoilage. You can add in any other veggies and nuts you like. Carrots, snow peas, almonds. Want to make it a complete meal, add in grilled chicken breast, or shrimp. You cannot mess this up. Win, win everytime ! I will be honest I almost always double the dressing, but have left it as a single dose. So as not to scare anyone, adding more dressing will be up to you ! 1 small head cabbage or 1 (16 ounce) bags coleslaw mix 3 green onions, sliced diagonally 2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, with seasoning packet 1 small red pepper finely diced 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons white vinegar 1 packet seasoning mix Thinly slice the cabbage, add into a large bowl. Next add in the sliced ...

Why is it the best salad ?? Because it all came from our garden ! Directly from the soil, to our table, I cannot not tell you how excited I get about this ! It is so wonderful to go out there, and see everything growing, this year we even have Arugula ! Mr.G takes such great care of our garden, and it shows ! It truly is a labor of love, and then to be able to make a fresh, organic green salad from it all, is just amazing. everything is growing ! Arugula/rocket lettuce,arugula,green onions,carrots~ a simple green salad,so delicous

This one is incredibly easy, there's no reason not to make it ! Puff pastry, ham, and cheese...see...EASY ! These are so yummy. Promise. Now go and make them ! puff pastry sheet  thinly sliced ham  grated  Cheddar Cheese one egg yolk plus a little water for egg wash combine the two and whisk together *** you really can fill these with any combination of cheese and deli meats & add anything else you like Pre heat your oven 220/425 Roll out your puff pastry and put a layer of the  ham followed by the grated cheddar cheese on top. Now roll it up like you would a carpet and cut into pieces, large or small. Place on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper, then brush with the egg wash. Bake  until golden brown, (about 20 mins.) take out and cool on a rack. That's it !

A mother holds her children’s hands for a while, but their hearts forever... Harvest -  Margarita Sikorskaia xo, Diana

This is such a pretty appetizer, (sorry boys, but it is!). It is easy to put together, with 3 ingredients, but don't be fooled it is a show stopper ! The sweet cranberries, the salty nuts and the tangy taste of the goat cheese are a winning combination. It can be made a couple of days ahead, or right on the spot, for when you have company drop in. I will warn you, once you start nibbling on this.. it is hard to stop..you just might have to make another one !  dried cranberries, chopped ( about 1/4 cup)  shelled pistachios, chopped ( about 1/4 cup) Any size log of fresh goat cheese ( I used Chevre) Coarsely chop your pistachios and cranberries and combine them together on a plate. Chevre has a rind, like brie, I just peeled that off. Roll the goat cheese in the nut mixture, you will also have to press the mixture in with your fingers. Serve with your favorite crackers. recipe source : Real Simple xo, Diana

Pasta what ??..... Pasta with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Parsley ! This is another simple,  super-quick dish that we never get tired of. It is one of my husbands favorites. Great as a main dish, or as a side dish. We love it with breaded chicken. Sometimes I forget to add the chili flakes...that's not a problem. After making this a couple of times, you will end up adjusting the garlic and the parsley to your own liking. 1/2 cup olive oil 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (less or more to taste) 1/2 cup finely chopped  parsley Spaghetti 500g Bring water to boil add salt and cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan.  Add garlic and cook on low for 1 minute. Do not brown. You just want to flavour the olive oil. Add hot red pepper flakes to taste. Drain pasta and add to pan. Toss to coat with oil and sprinkle with chopped parsley. xo.Diana

This is such an easy meal to make. It is one of our favorites, I think my 7 year old Simon, would eat this everyday, if I made it that often. This time it was lovely to actually use leeks from our garden. If you prefer not to add the peas, thats ok too. The only think you must do, is use real parmesan cheese, it will make all the difference. I used spaghetti, but any pasta is fine. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil 2 packages diced bacon 2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced 500g spaghetti, or any other pasta 2 large eggs, room temperature 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving 2 cups baby peas (or less) optional salt and pepper to taste Directions: Sauté bacon and leeks butter or olive oil, in large pan over medium heat until bacon is cooked and the leeks are soft, about 6 -8 minutes. Set aside. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but...

 Here is a fantastic Frozen Margarita to help celebrate Cinco de Mayo ! Cheers ! Frozen Margarita salt for glass rims ( I sometimes dont even bother with this) 2 ounces lime juice, plus more for rim of cup 2 ounces Cointreau or Triple Sec or Grand Marnier 4 ounces tequila, plus more if needed 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar (optional) 2 cups ice Place salt in a plastic bowl, wide enough to fit the rims of the margarita glasses.  Rub each rim of the margarita glasses with a lime wedge or with lime juice. Then dip each glass into the bowl of salt to coat the rims. Set glasses aside. In a blender, combine Cointreau, 2 ounces lime juice, tequila, (add sugar, if you like a sweet drink) and ice, and blend on high until ice is thoroughly crushed. Taste tequila, (more tequila might be necessary). Divide between two glasses and serve immediately. Makes 2 cocktails. or 1 very large one !

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. ~~Mary Kay Ash