This Week's Blog Post

Green Aventurine Bracelet

 Here is some green aventurine! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Parker River Wildlife Sanctuary
The Parker River Wildlife Sanctuary is a national refuge for all sorts of birds located in Plum Island, Massachusetts.

It is 4,662 acres in size!!!

This is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the mouth of the Merrimack River.

The result is over 3,000 acres of salt marshes.

It boasts over 350 species of birds. That is a crane above (difficult to see).

Although we only saw birds, this place is also home to deer, coyote, red foxes, beavers, muskrats, weasels and various reptiles.

Here are some duck butts. My bird photos were all take from afar so they are not clear.

We came across a family of Canadian geese. The mom was hissing at everyone who walked by. The babies were hanging out in the walkway and she was in charge of protective duty. You can actually see her in the photo vocalizing her frustration with the humans.

We watched them make their way into the water for a swim.

We came across a path leading to boardwalks through marshy wooded areas.

Much to our surprise, this walk became really amazing when we hiked up these steps to an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean and picturesque dunes.

Even though this is next to the ocean it has a desert like feel!

Our initial intent was to take a morning walk on the beach which required a long boardwalk stroll. It was a cold June morning so we nixed that idea and travelled futher to the refuge.

The beach on Plum Island is a quiet, peaceful beach without the fried dough, cheap t-shirt sales, video games, etc.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip to Plum Island and its refuge! Have a great week!!!  ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

New Bracelets
I just posted a new green aventurine and a new black onyx bracelet! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.


Quinoa Lasagna Casserole
This was delicious.

I came across the idea of quinoa lasagna when reading recipes. The quinoa is layered in place of pasta for a much healthier dish. It tastes very close to regular lasagna but its texture is much different, like a casserole!

We cooked the quinoa first. Then added a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of quinoa. Next we added a layer of vegetables that included chopped mushrooms, diced red pepper and chopped zuchinni. Then we topped that with ricotta and shredded mozzarella.

We repeated these layers until the 13” x 9” pan was full. Then we baked this at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until the veggies were cooked through. Mmmm! Where Jim likes to call our cooking making love in the kitchen, he felt this was wild sex in the kitchen (I agree). It is probably because neither of us had eaten lasagna in a long time!

Leftover Quinoa Idea

There was some leftover quinoa in the fridge to for dinner one night I scrambled a couple of eggs and added them to the heated quinoa with a little margarine and black pepper. Delicious!

Homemade Cheesecake
We had another couple over for dinner last weekend and I planned on checking out a bakery next to our favorite wine store. However when I looked online I read terrible reviews that it is way overpriced and lacking in quality! I looked at their website and they charge $4.75 for 1 cupcake! Is that nuts or normal? Anyway I cannot justify that since I am not wealthy!

So I then decided to attempt cheesecake for the first time!

I have a promotional cookbook from Philadelphia Cream Cheese and thought who better to write the perfect recipe! This one was great since it did not require a springform pan which I do not own since I am not much of a baker!

This is a great beginner recipe if anyone would like to whip up this tasty treat!
6 honey graham crackers crushed (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, melted
5 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 can (21 oz) of pie filling of your choice

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Line 13" x 9” pan with foil, with ends extending over sides (I had to use a 9" x 9" pan since the big one was needed for eggplant parmesan)! Mix graham cracker crumbs, 3 tbsp sugar and butter. Press onto bottom for pan and bake 10 minutes.


Meanwhile beat the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, flour and vanilla until blended. Add sour cream, mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time until blended. Pour over crust.

Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely and refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake out of pan before serving. Top with filling.

I laughed when writing this because I realized I screwed up badly when preparing the filling. I only used 1 package of cream cheese versus 5!!!! What was funny is that it tasted great and the texture was perfect. So I know that making the recipe accurately will be phenomenal. So I will definitely be trying this again when cheesecake seems appropriate!

Alice
My girl Alice is pretty much afraid of her own shadow. I do not know if she had been abused or was born on the streets, but something prior to my adoption made her this way.

I was so proud of her because she came out from hiding and was letting my friend pet her! She is making great strides to be a braver girl!

Saved Dolphins
If you did not see this video from March 5 yet and are in need of something uplifting, this is worth the 4 minute viewing!

Approximately 30 dolphins began to beech themselves on a coast in Brazil. Luckily there were plenty of bystanders willing to give them a hand. All appeared to be saved and unharmed. It brought a happy tear to my eye!

Have a wonderful week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Green Aventurine
This necklace has nuggets of unakite and autumn jasper, stones that I typically associate with fall.

Pairing them with green aventurine is making me think spring! This piece is available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Snow!
Let me just say that snow is not my friend. I do not care for it much. However this winter has been so strange that I actually got excited that we had some snow to take pictures of. I do love how it looks just after it has fallen and sticks to trees, shrubs, plants, etc!

For those of you who are not from a snow infested area, this was the good stuff. The good snow is perfect for snowball fights and snowman making.

It is also the stuff that sticks to the trees and plants making them look so pretty! On the other hand, it is the evil stuff. Try shoveling cement!!! Not fun.

Even though I got slightly excited, I still look forward to my future retirement with Jim in sunny Florida.


Oscars
I did not get too excited about any Oscar gowns this year except for Michelle Williams who was wearing Octavia Spencer. If I could have a love affair with a dress, this would be the one!

It actually looked red on my old fashioned television so I was blown away even more when I saw it online the next day! The coral color is so beautiful and I adore the pairing with a pink clutch and pink lipstick. Perfection. She was working it too. Subtly though, not like Angelina Jolie and her strange leg movements. What was that all about?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Speaking of Oscars, this section ties in with the annual awards show.

Yes, the title sounds silly! My mom gave me this book to read since we have roots from the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. This novel is unique because the content is entirely letters to and from different people that create the story! This really brought the characters to life!

The storyline sounds depressing. It is about a writer who goes to Guernsey after World War II to learn of the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society that was formed during the island’s German occupation during the war to cope with the times. However it is written with lots of humor!

It was the only novel from Mary Ann Shaffer and was completed by her niece, Annie Barrows when Mary fell ill. Mary has since passed but I find it so inspirational since she had been quoted saying that “all I wanted was to write a book that someone would like to publish”. Apparently many publishers wanted to get their hands on this one!!!! We can do anything we put our minds to!

How does this tie into the Oscars you ask? Well I was ecstatic to learn that this novel is being brought to the big screen starring Kate Winslet and directed by Kenneth Branagh!

So it is safe to assume that this will be an Academy Award nominated film. It is due to start filming soon and will be released in 2013. It will be interesting to see this compilation of letters be put to film!!!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful week! ~Val