Home Made Sherbet

It has been hot here in the Carolina's. This mean lots of cold treats. Like sherbet for example.
I admit I'm more of an Ice Cream eater over sherbet. My husband on the other hand, prefers sherbet.

My favorite sherbet flavor is Orange. I remember many years ago back in elementary school, they had an ice cream cart visit each room once a week. The kids would line up to purchase their favorite ice cream. I loved the Orange Push ups. I also like the Nutty Buddies, but there was just something refreshing about the sweet orange creamy sherbet.

Yesterday I thought I was going to have to have a tooth extraction and would want something cold to eat so I pulled out a bag of mixed berries and made my own sherbet to enjoy for my late night snack.
I ended up not needing an extraction but I still have a delicious snack.

It was so easy to make....

Just kidding, I had a mess with no end as I had berries everywhere. My blender was not strong enough to mix the frozen berries so I moved them to the food processor and that didn't work either. I then found a more powerful blender that I had stored away and it worked. Wheeew. I had a mess and three appliances to clean up.

So, if you have a powerful blender, this sherbet is easy to make.

Home Made Berry Sherbet

1 bag frozen of mixed berries (approx 2 1/2 cups).

2 tsp fresh lemon juice.

2 Tbs honey

3 Tbs warm water as needed to mix. 

Place all ingredients in high speed mixer.

Pulse until smooth and creamy.

ENJOY.

I enjoyed my sherbet in a waffle bowl. As it melted, it coated the bowl with sweetness. 

Breakfast and a SeeSaw

Saturday we spent the morning visiting my daughter in the queen city. She wanted to take us out to breakfast and a little walk around the area.

Her boyfriend came along too. He is a joy to be around. We parked at her uptown apartment and walked 2 miles to a little place called Roots Cafe. 

Me and Nick just wanted something lite so we ordered a side of avocado toast. 

They messed up and gave us the whole meal plate which included 2 eggs on the side. I was ok with that as I love eggs and ended up cleaning my plate. 

We also shared a Latke with Poblano Cream Crema & green onions. It was a type of potato cake and was delicious. 

Afterward we walked down to a new doughnut shop tucked away in the back of a building called PepperBox Doughnuts. They offer different varieties of doughnuts each week. I chose the “Elvis”.

It was topped with a banana cream with a drizzle of peanut butter and topped with bacon. I only took two bites and I was finished. I’m trying to keep away from the sweets. But I just couldn't resist. 

My daughter ordered the Hibiscus Jelly filled. Hers was much better than mine. It tasted like real fruit and topped with sugar crystals.

While we were headed back, we came across a see-saw next to the lightrail and I had to jump on. 

We laughed and giggled like two little kids on a playground. I didn’t care who was watching. 

You can see her boyfriend sitting there probably thinking his girlfriend has a crazy mom. Haha.

It’s always fun to visit my daughter. Later we headed to my mom and dads to celebrate my oldest brothers 55th birthday. We had some good food, cake and laughs to finish off the night. 

Cactus Pineapple Smoothie

I really want to start eating healthier by adding more natural plant based foods to my diet. It's really hard, but I have been adding more healthy options to my grocery list. I'm not Vegan or even Vegetarian but I believe they both are healthy habits. I just don't want to commit to any strict diets, but instead, just make some better choices in what I put in and on my body. 

Eating healthy has also led me to try new foods otherwise I would turn my nose up too. One of the newest foods I tried lately is (Nopal) Cactus. I read that there are a lot of health benefits hidden inside this prickly vegetable. I am excited to share with you this "Licuado de Nopal" aka Cactus Pineapple Smoothie. It tasted like nothing else I've ever had. Cactus itself taste like a cross between celery and asparagus, if you can imagine. Mixed in a smoothie it's not so bad after all.

Before handling any cactus, make sure to wear gloves. I learned this the hard way while picking through them at the grocery store. I was picking fine thorns from my hands all the way home while my husband thought it was funny. He suggested I use tongs that were available next time. 

Before eating, cut around the outside to remove the edges then take a knife or cactus scraper and scrape off  all the thorns, then wash thoroughly. I took my gloves off at this point and sacrificed my hands to make sure there were not more prickly things on the paddles. Luckily there were none and it was ready to cut into cubes.   

Cactus Pineapple Smoothie

1 cup- cleaned and cubed Cactus

1 cup- cubed Pineapple (I used frozen)

1 cup- of Orange Juice or Water

1 teaspoon- of Turmeric. (tasteless but optional)

add all to a blender and blend until smooth

Enjoy.

Cactus water (or smoothie) is known to help with weight loss, regulate blood sugar levels and improve digestion. It is also an anti-inflammatory. 

Other health benefits of cactus include:

• Great for joint inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Natural detox. Good for the gut. 
• Great for skin.
• Strengthens immune system.
• Lowers cholesterol.
• Help prevent against cancer.
• Helps control type II diabetes.
• Relieves menstrual cramps in women.
• It can also help with inflammation of the urethra and bladder to control bladder infections. 
• And if you get drunk....It's known to help hangovers.

I found most of this info here. (Source). 

The original recipe and more interesting facts can be found here (Source).

How did I like it?

It was pretty good. It was not like drinking a sweet berry smoothie topped with granola and chocolate, but it was good. It had a sweet tart bite too it but yet still refreshing. 

What I think about it?

We ended up making another trip to the Mexican grocery store for more. I have felt good after drinking one of these smoothies and actually had a good night sleep. I think this drink is a good thing and plan to drink one a couple times a week. I hope it helps with the inflammation in my ears associated with my symptoms of Meniere's.  

I have never been afraid to try new things. If it's edible, I’ll eat it. It’s good to experiment with different foods. There is a lot of good foods out there yet to be discovered. You’ll never know unless you try it. 

Easy Tzatziki Sauce

One of my favorite sides when I visit a Greek restaurant is the Tzatziki Sauce they add to the Gyros or on the side as a dip. I'm not a big fan of Gyros but I love Greek pita bread dipped in this creamy  sauce.

Tzatziki sauce is a creamy cucumber sauce usually made with yogurt and added spices.

I have had this sauce from a local grocery store before but the taste just did not add up to the restaurant style so I went searching for a recipe. I found many different ones but they all seem to make too much of a batch. I just wanted a little bit for my dinner as it does not keep more that a couple days.

I took bits and pieces of other recipes and broke them down to smaller portions until I found the right ingredients for a small jar. And the fact I only had a small yogurt in the fridge. 

I think it turned out great.

With homemade Tzatziki sauce, the main instruction is to make sure that the cucumber and yogurt are drained well. You do not want watery sauce. Mine turned out watery but it did not take away from the delicious taste.

Easy Tzatziki Sauce

1- 5 oz. Plain Greek Yogurt.

1/2- Finely chopped Cucumber (remove the seeds)

1- Pressed Garlic Clove

1 Tbsp- Dill Weed

Juice of lemon a wedge

pinch of salt

Make sure to squeeze all the water out of the chopped cucumber.

You can mix by hand but I added it all to a food processor until creamy. 

refrigerate for an hour for best results. 

Enjoy. 

Tzatziki Sauce (or cucumber sauce) is great on salads, sandwiches or used as a dip for breads and veggies. I will be enjoying this at dinner tonight with my Felafel's 

Sunday Lunch

The weather has been hot here in North Carolina and very sunny. It is just too pretty to stay inside especially on a nice Sunday afternoon.

After church, Nick and I decided we wanted just a sandwich for lunch. Unfortunately it was grocery shopping day so we were out of sandwich fixings. That's when we decided to go out for another adventure to find a little spot to sit down and have a lite bite.

We ventured out to a little town close by to try a place everyone raves about called the Table and Market. As we walked inside it took us back in time. This restaurant was structured using old materials recycled from the towns historic buildings.

The bricking and roof are all original structure of what used to be an old supermarket. The shelving are from the town library which was the first library in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The bar tops and wine racks were taken from a Parr Yarn Mill.

We found a spot to sit down on the outside patio. It was so peaceful as we observed our surroundings. Service was great and the food was delicious. Oh, and we did get a sandwich but it was not a small sandwich. 

I ordered the BBQ sandwich with a side of slaw and Nick had the Italian club with a side of tomato. It was delicious and the meat was fresh deli meat prepared right there in the restaurants deli. 

We will definitely go back to this one again. They had a good looking brunch menu I’d like to try. It’s just hard to eat “brunch”. I’m old school where it’s either breakfast or lunch. Nothing in between unless it’s a stale danish with a cup of coffee. 

Poke Bowls

We always try to visit new eating places that come to town. The most recent is a place called Poke Bros . It is a franchise so there are other locations in different areas. I was excited to see one open up around here.

I have never had a Poke' Bowl so I was excited to try it.
I guess you wonder what it is. Right?
Well a Poke' Bowl is a Hawaiian Cuisine and basically Sushi in a bowl. If you like Sushi, you will like these. If you do not like Sushi then you still need to try it. What most non Sushi eaters do not understand is that Sushi is not always "raw" fish. I will not eat anything raw, not even cookie dough.

Poke' Bros. was a small "hole in the wall" place, located on the East side of town. The bright glowing sign hung above the entrance.

I could not help but think the sign pointed to the bakery next door.

As we entered, we walked up to the counter and placed our order. You can create your own bowl or pick from one of their signature bowls which is exactly what we did.

I chose from #3. The Hula (shrimp). Again. I stay away from the raw fish and stick with shrimp or crab meat. My bowl was loaded with meat and veggies. They added several sauces and toppings that I could not even pronounce. It was all perfectly layered on a mound of extra sticky, sticky rice.

The staff was super nice and offered us samples of sauces before they applied them to our bowls. They even let Nick sample a few pieces of raw fish that was cut into thick cubes. He liked it but I refused to even try it.

We were satisfied and amazed at how good the food was. We finished off our meal with some delicious Mochi Ice Cream. 

Mochi is ice cream wrapped in rice dough. They are fun to eat. I talked about them before on another post here.

We plan to visit Poke Bros again and try different varieties each time.

Have you ever tried Poke' Bowls?

Pho Feel'n

Whenever a new place to eat opens up in town, we like to visit it then we talk about it all the way home. Does anyone else do this?  We decided to try a new Asian Cuisine restaurant in town during restaurant week called "Pho Feel'n.

As we entered, we were greeted by a very friendly staff and a cute little hostess as my eyes were drawn to the original rustic wood floors of the old building and rows of pillows along the wall seating in the dining area. I'm weird, so I chose to sit in a chair at the table instead of a pillow lined bench. I just can't touch loose throw pillows in a public place not knowing who or how many people have been wollaring on them. That's just me. But it was cute. 

After we were seated, we took a look at the menu and made our choice. Or should I say choices. We ordered twice! We had intentionally decided to just share a few different appetizers as our meal. We ordered the Lemongrass chicken skewers, Fresh Summer Rolls with peanut sauce and Spring rolls.

While we waited, I decided to try a bubble tea. I have always wanted to try one. After the waitress explained the different flavors and some of the customer favorites, I decided on the Thai Tea flavor (I think). It was creamy and made me think of a caramel or butterscotch flavored milkshake. 

Bubble tea is a tea based drink with milk or fruit and chewy tapioca balls and jelly added. 

I loved this bubble tea. It was fun slurping the large chewy tapioca balls through the extra fat straw they supplied.

Once we finished our appetizers as a meal, we were still not satisfied (I really should have stopped here) so we decided to share the "Pork Banh Mi". 

This was on french bread with marinated pork, Japanese mayonnaise, cilantro and carrots. No complaints on this sandwich either as we devoured it in few quick bites. Yum.

What did we think about it?

Everything we ate was delicious and made with fresh ingredients. The meats were tender and the breads were so soft, it melted in our mouth. We thought the Spring rolls were the best we ever had. Even though everything was made as ordered, we did not have to wait a long time on our meal. Service was quick and the staff was very friendly and informative. 

They are adding some new items to the menu according to their facebook page. 

We will definitely visit again. We have even talked about just stopping in and getting a take out of just Spring rolls alone. Seriously, They were the best..

If you are looking for a new place in to eat in Gastonia, 

This is worth trying pho sure!.

Pho Feel'n. 

Located on Main street, Gastonia, NC

Hearts Of Palm-Wraps

While shopping for groceries the other day, I came across a can of Hearts of Palm. I had no idea what these were or how to use them but I tossed them in the buggy and continued my shopping.

The curiosity was killing him, so Nick started searching for some info about this veggie and found a recipe to try. I'm not sure what the recipe is called but I have to give him all the credit for this one. It was a win as he put together a combination of healthy veggies and made a delicious filling for tortilla wraps.

Hearts of Palm comes from the center of a cabbage palm tree. The textures is crunchy yet soft sort of like an asparagus stem. (They taste nothing like asparagus). 

They have the taste that resembles artichoke hearts. They are very tasty and I could seriously eat them right out of the can.

This veggie is full of nutrition. To name a few:

• Zinc
• B-6 (promotes healthy sleep cycle)
• C
• Potassium
• Protein 
• fiber 

Hearts of Palm has many health benefits. To name a few:

• High in fiber and protein so it enhances weight loss.
• Improves immune system.
• Great for digestive system.
• Lowers blood sugar..
• Decreases inflammation.
• Supports bone health.
• Prevents Anemia.

You can use Hearts of Palm for many recipes as they take on any flavor they are mixed with. They are also great chopped into salads or made into dips. I seen a recipe for "Crabless Crab cakes", I cant wait to try next. 

I love the recipe Nick came up with for the wraps. We have eaten these several times as a healthy, delicious and filling meal. Here is how he did it. 

Hearts Of Palm Wraps

Spray sauce pan with no stick spray or ad a touch of oil.

add:

Chopped onions

Frozen Zoodles (or chopped zucchini) 

Cook until soft.

Sprinkle some minced garlic (optional)

salt and pepper.

add:

1- can of chick peas (Garbanzo beans).

1- can of chopped Hearts of Palm.

Cover and simmer about 15 minutes to get it all softened up.

Now Enjoy.

We like to add sour cream, cheese and salsa to our wrap before rolling it all together. These are delicious and you will not even miss the meat.

I can't help but wonder about the first person that chopped a palm tree down and said, 

"hmm, I wonder what this taste like". 

Weekend Review

We finally saw some sunshine this weekend and got outside a bit. We headed to Charlotte and met up with our daughter for lunch at a place called  Tupelo Honey Cafe. It was a nice little place in the South End of Charlotte. 

They started us off with a plate of warm biscuts and jelly. Then I started off with my first ever Mimosa. 

I’m not real sure what all is in a Mimosa except champagne and orange juice, but I have always wanted to try one.

For the meal, I ordered one of my Southern favorites. Fried Green Tomatoes with basil, goat cheese grits, and roasted red pepper coulis.

Our daughter had the Slow-Roasted Pork Grilled Cheese white cheddar, smoked jalapeno bbq sauce, on pumpernickel bread (not pictured). And Nick chose the veggie burger with a side of Beer City Chicken Chili. 

I loved the rustic atmomphere that gives you a warm cozy feel. They also have a large outdoor sitting area to enjoy on a warm day under a covered porch. The food was delicious and the staff worked hard to make sure we had everything we needed. 

Afterwards we took a walk around the area. The temperature was in the 60’s and the streets were packed with people wanting to get out and enjoy the pretty day. 

What is the weather like in your area? Is it unseasonably warm like it is here in the Carolinas? 

But hey, I’m not complaining. I could live where it stays warm year-round. I love it.

Fine Dinning

Where I come from, fancy eating is dinner around the dinning room table instead of the kitchen table using cloth napkins instead of paper.

As a Christmas present from my daughters boyfriend. He insisted on taking us out of our comfort zone and into a fancy swanky restaurant in uptown.

We did not know where he was taking us but we trusted him and agreed to go. 

We met at his house and he drove us uptown where the buildings were tall and the town was full of lights and action.

This is the first time Nick had ever let anyone drive him. He never lets me drive him anywhere and if we go anywhere with a group, he will drive his own car. So this was a pretty big shock to me and my daughter. 

Upon arriving at the restaurant we were met with a valet driver at the front door of none other than Ruth Chris Steakhouse. I have always heard about this place, but knew I’d never go unless taken there by surprise. Ha.

Our table was waiting and we sat down to dinner. After the price shock from the menu, I ordered my meal. I chose the Salmon, while everyone else had steak or chicken. We snacked on calamari while we waited. I almost forgot where I was as I reached in using my fingers. Nick tapped my hand and pointed at one of the two forks. 

Sides were ordered separately so we ordered four to share. I also enjoyed a glass of wine and It was not the cheap stuff.

I leaned over to my daughter and asked “are you not concerned about where your car is or who has it?” She responded with “well yea, I’ve never used valet parking before”. 

The wait staff worked hard to make every ones dining a pleasurable one. They kept our glasses filled and clean silverware by the plates. If we put our fork down, they immediately would replace it with a clean one and wiped any crumbs off the table ( I was seriously waiting on a back rub). 

The food was delicious. I think that is the best fish I ever had and Nicks steak was so tender you could cut it with a fork. We finished the meal off with a couple desserts. They said they were sharable in size. (Maybe for an elf). 

After dinner the car was waiting for us at the door, unharmed. 

This was definitely a nice treat and something different for us. We are very thankful and blessed to have such a good boyfriend in the family. 

You may be laughing at my excitement of fine dinning but in my town, we usually will eat a meal for two under twenty bucks. 

Snow Candy

We woke up Sunday morning to about an inch of snow. The weatherman got it right. Snow is something we do not see but maybe once or twice a year here. People will get into a panic and rush to the stores and close businesses with the slightest threat of the white stuff. We rarely get just plain snow, It’s usually mixed with sleet or freezing rain. In fact, it has been sleeting here for hours, laying a blanket of ice to seal the snow. Basically, we get our Winters in bundles. It can be 70 degrees one week and 30 the next. But I will not complain. Nothing is prettier than a snow in December.

I really miss my daughter being home on snow days. We used to rush out and build a snow man followed by making snow cream, then settle down inside to a warm cup of cocoa. Now we snap photos back a forth. 

The kid in me still likes to go outside when it snows. While I was having my breakfast and coffee, I came across a recipe for Maple Snow candy.  I could not wait to go outside and try it. Holy Moly it worked! 

I am 49 years old and have seen every Little House on the Prairie episode and still never knew about “snow candy” until today. I bet my mom knew about this, but with four kids I can see why she kept it a secret. 

Supposedly, Snow taffy or Snow candy is a traditional favorite in Canada. When maple syrup is boiled to the right temperature, it is poured onto a blanket of snow creating a taffy or hard candy. I guess it depends on the heat of the syrup. There is an art to making candy just like making peanut brittle. But ill save that one for another post. 

I did not have any Maple syrup so I used the optional recipe of honey and brown sugar. 

SNOW CANDY

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of brown sugar. 

Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. You want the temperature to reach about 235-240 degrees.

I did not have a thermometer so I let it boil for about 5 minutes. It will foam up but the foam will disappear as soon as you take it off the heat. 

When the syrup is ready, pour strips of the honey mixture into the snow. With straws (or wooden sticks) roll the candy to make pops. This has to be done rather fast because it quickly turns into a hard candy. If this happens its ok, the kids will have fun picking the pieces up to get a sugar fix. 

I’m sure the real Maple syrup would have tasted better than honey but a poor girl only has so much to work with. 

WARNING:  Use adult supervision at all times and be very careful. Boiling sugar can be the worst burn ever if it gets on you because it will stick while burning your skin off

It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas

Finally, It’s beginning to look like Christmas in the house. I usually do not do a lot of decorating because sadly, no one ever visits. Of course, I could cook or have a party and they would come but no on ever just “drops by”.

When my daughter was in for the weekend, I turned on the Christmas music and we decorated the Christmas tree and did a little cooking. While she finished the tree up, I headed to the den to decorate the mantle. I looked for black and white buffalo plaid to use with my accented reds throughout the house. I could not find what I was looking for, so I grabbed a table cloth, pot holders and a couple ornaments in the red and black gingham. It will have to do for now. Again, who's gonna see?

After we settled down for the night, we painted a couple cookie cutter style ornaments that she brought home for us to do. She always liked to paint ornaments since she was little. I will hold on to that as long as I can.

It was fun catching up on drama and giggling a bit. Nick was somewhere in the house hiding. I tell ya, we wear his ears out when shes home. It’s like having a best friend in the house. 

We skipped the black Friday mobs and headed out early Saturday morning for some shopping. First stop was to the restored Loray Mill for “shop small business Saturday”. There were lots of craft vendors. Here is my daughter checking out the breads and pastries. 

I purchased a tomato pie to try. After the small shopping at the mill, we headed to the mall and a few other places before eating lunch at McAlisters.

I had the half turkey ruben with tortilla soup. It was so good and just the perfect portion.

It was a busy weekend and its not going to lighten up anytime soon. There seems to be something going on every weekend from now until Christmas. 

But on a good note. I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping. If I can just stop buying myself something every time I go out, then maybe I’d be better off. 

Black Friday

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I said I wouldn’t do it, but I did it. I over ate yesterday and woke up to a splitting headache and puffy eyes. I am regretting  the loads of desserts I ate tasted all day long. I am simply not used to eating one BIG meal, much less two! But I am thankful.

My daughter came home to stay a few days with us. I kissed my husband and told him I’d see him again in a few days. haha. That is our joke when she comes over because once she hits the door, the girl talk starts. We jabber the whole time about friends, fashion, recipes and work. He gets put on the back burner while I give all my attention to her most of the time. 

She came in bringing goodies from Trader Joe's. We do not have a TraderJoes store in my town, so its always a treat when she brings the goodies. 

We stayed up late Thanksgiving Eve and decorated the Christmas tree and started the cooking for Thanksgiving. 

Today is the day that everyone rushes out before the sun comes up to grab a great black Friday deal. This is something I have never had any intentions to do. I would rather pay ten dollars more for an item than to get into that mess. Better yet, There are black Friday special going on all over the internet too. I will probably be in cyber world all day. 

Below are a couple black Friday sales going on today that I just so happen to be partnered with. I am happy to have the opportunities to share good things from honest companies. 

Rice Love Bags. - SHOP HERE  Use code: BLACKFRIDAY

Get 40% off til Noon 

Get 30% off noon-6 pm

Get 20% 6pm - midnight.

For every bag sold, a family is fed. Each bag is hand made from recycled rice bags so there are no two alike. 

Attached to each bag is a number to enter to see and read about the family you just fed. 

They are all so appreciative and grateful and the bags are adorable!

Goose Creek Candles- SHOP HERE
Large Candles are only $9.99 Today! 

These candles are absolutely wonderful. They burn clean and full of fragrance.

I’m really enjoying my peppermint candle. 

Nutrisystem: SHOP HERE 

Shop A La Carte with 50% off! 

Nutrisystem is the only diet that worked for me. I lost 50 lbs and it was so easy. 

The food is delicious and satisfying. 

They have plans starting at 249.00 a month. 

That's a great deal considering what you spend at the grocery store a month where most food goes to waste or waist. 

Clio Snacks - SHOP HERE.

OK there is no black Friday sale for these delicious yogurt bars but you can find them at most Walmarts and Harris Teeter stores. They are my new favorite snack. They absolutely taste like and have the texture of little cheese cakes dipped in chocolate. New flavors and ideas are in the works for the new year. You can find them on the Yogurt isles and they are only a dollar each! You will fall in love with them.