Monthly Archives: July 2016

staycation atlanta

Lots of Tomatoes

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If you  have lots of tomatoes then you make Panzanella! Bread and tomato salad…Salads #2

I chopped up some tomatoes, a couple large ones, and a bunch of small ones and a few yellow ones. I put them in a strainer over a small bowl. Then, I had two hoagie rolls. I cut them into bite size cubes and tossed them in olive oil and threw them in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. I sliced a red onion. I put the bread in a bowl, put the onions over them and the tomatoes then I took the tomato juice and made a vinaigrette. I poured the vinaigrette over it all and stirred and threw it in the fridge for 30 minutes. I chopped up some calamata olives and tossed them in. Salad #1

But the most important step was adding basil and some arugala. it is the most refreshing salad and just shouts SUMMER!!!

staycation atlanta

An old favorite Staycation!

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I started out in search of this place…images-3It’s a deli, a gallery and a place to live upstairs.It is in Lakemont Georgia. I have never been there and thought it would be interesting. So, you drive up I-85 to 985 to 441, it actually just changes into each interstate, then Highway. You go past Tallulah Falls, Tallulah Gorge, Tallulah River. IMG_3282

This in itself is a great Staycation! We will visit again soon!IMG_3292.jpg

So, I ended up not stopping but drove on to Lake Burton. It was a new road to me, in the mountains, windy and super fun! The road approaches Lake Burton from the Dam. I had only seen the dam from a boat. IMG_7573

This lake is fabulous, gorgeous and so blue. My photos do not to it justice. IMG_7582

This is a great Staycation. IMG_7585

The campground was totally full, but it looked like fun. Hey anyway to get away for a little bit.

staycation atlanta

Easy Lentil Soup

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images-4  Meatless Monday on the Fourth of July, I decided to make an easy lentil soup.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium celery stalk, small dice

1 medium carrot, peeled and small dice

1/2 medium onion, small dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 quart low sodium vegetable broth

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juices

1 1/4 cups lentils (any color except red)

1 bayleaf

1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh Thyme leaves

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 ounces spinach leaves

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened. Then add the garlic cook till you can smell it. Then season with salt and pepper.

Add the broth, tomatoes, lentils, bay leaf and thyme and stir. Cover and bring to a simmer about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat and continue cooking covered about 15 minutes more.

Taste and add more seasoning, if needed. Stir in the vinegar. Then I used an emulsifier.Then I added in the spinach

It is better the next day! (Oh and I added Tumeric and some cumin)

staycation atlanta

Searching for a Baby Pool

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I got it in my head that Bradley Cooper might love a baby pool full of water in this heat. So, I headed out to Target.Unknown(I do love Target!) They had inflatable baby pools but not the hard plastic ones. So off I went to Walmart.Unknown-1(I really do not care for Walmart) It was a super Walmart too. So huge, but no baby pools to be found. Asked an associate, she said they weren’t moving so they got rid of them. This seemed unreal, since it’s a holiday weekend and super hot out.

I found some tie dye supplies (I am easily distracted)

The cashier was extremely nice. She asked if I found everything I was looking for and I said, No. She said they moved them all up to seasonal and they must have sold out.

This is all I was looking for…Unknown-2Then as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw them, they were outside in the gardening area. I parked again and went inside. They were huge. They would never fit in my car, even with the top down. I will try again soon. Let me know if you have any ideas.