Foodie Friday!

Thank you Gollum over at Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday... Click here to visit all the other delicious Foodie Friday posts! 

As some of my friends know, Hubby and I are on a strict diet. It lasts for 21 days then we go to a more un-strict diet. However just because its strict doesn't mean it has to be flavorless!

We eat well! And that makes the 21 days go by easier!

I usually post on my other blog the photos of what we are having so I thought I would double post tonight since its a delicious dinner and only 250 calories or less... 

I love Scallops and Hubby doesn't so I felt like a short order chef tonight because I made two seafood choices... Scallops and Garlic Shrimp.

We start with the Shrimp... Good ole Costco bags of frozen uncooked shrimp... defrost them in a bowl of water... right along with the Scallops. Patting them dry. I put the shrimp in a non stick pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil then toss 2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic in the pan right along with them... In the same minute I place my scallops on a hot dry non stick indoor grill. Just the scallops naked. 

Here is the shrimp:

Here are the scallops:

I toss the shrimp while the scallops sear... their own juice and the sugar in the meat give them that golden coating... See you don't need to add any butter or oil to cook scallops... 

place them on the hot flat grill naked.

Meanwhile toss the shrimp and garlic and coconut oil all you want! I toss em in the air... This photo is a little blurry because I was just about to toss them in the air and take a photo at the same time!

I turned the scallops when they came off the grill by themselves and didn't stick... seared them quickly on the other side and took them off! Same with the shrimp... 

Always careful not to over cook seafood.

I made a huge salad

and a ginger dressing with fresh ginger/coconut oil/soy sauce and tossed the salad...

Here is the Garlic shrimp and salad with ginger dressing:

And the scallops and salad with ginger dressing:

For dessert: A bowl of fresh strawberries & blackberries!

Thank you for visiting 

The Project Table!

~Really Rainey~

Wordless Wednesday

Click here for other Wordless Wednesday posts. 

When The Lavender Blooms

I am linked to Boardwalk Bragfest

When the lavender starts to bloom in my yard I trim and cut it all the time making sure it will bloom and grow again and again...

Then I start making the lavender things that I use, and give away as gifts the rest of the year... There is always so much lavender!

I grow different varieties. But they all are wonderful and its such a relaxing scent.

Here are some of the things I make with lavender:

Luxurious Lavender soap

Lovely Lavender Sachets

Lavender Wands

I don't have any photos of these yet this year but I also make:

*Bath Tea bags - lavender buds in tea bags. Just add to the tub.

*Dryer bags- Lavender bags that you add to the dryer. The heat and moisture of the dryer release the lavender scent... I use these on my towels.

*Fire Starters~ ALL the clippings that come from my lavender plants are saved separately, dried, and tied together in little bundles... during the spring we have an outdoor fire in our metal fire pit and I add the little bundles to start the fire or during a fire... The scent is intoxicating!

And if I have time I make my own homemade Lavender essential oil and Lavender water.

Here is a tutorial of how to make a Lavender Wand to use in drawers, closets, the bathroom and laundry room or where ever!

*Cut about 12 to 15 long stems of fresh lavender buds. You will also need a spool of 1/4 inch ribbon and a spool of 1/2 inch ribbon, you choice of colors!

*Make a bouquet and tie a knot right up to the stems.

*Put bouquet in the sun to wilt for at least 20 minutes. Allowing the stems to wilt make them more pliable for what you are about to do.

*Bend stems over the heads of the lavender for form a little cage and tie it off with ribbon.

* Then starting at the top, weave the ribbion using the over under method in and out of the stems that are wrapped around the buds. I do mine kind of sloppy because thats the look I like... but you can make them also very tight and neat...

*Trim then wrap the stems in ribbon...

*Volia! A Very old fashioned, but fresh Lavender wand.

"The old quiet, the old comfort of home. Not a sound but that of pattering rain in the still night. As always, the room smelt of lavender, blended with that indescribable fragrance which comes of extreme cleanliness in an old country house."

(from Will Warburton by George Gissing)

Thank you for visiting

The Project Table!

~Really Rainey~

Sunday Drive...

The Hoover Dam

Take a photo drive with me over the Hoover Dam

The first glimpse of anything is the impressive

new 4 lane road.

And the still under construction

Colorado River Bridge next to Hoover Dam.

Below is a view from the dam. You can just make out the arches

reaching out to someday soon connect.

When the bridge is complete you will no longer be allowed to drive over the Hoover Dam. That's why Hubby and I decided to go this way on our way home from Las Vegas... We knew it was going to take a little longer because of traffic but it was totally worth it!

Below is a computer generated image

of how the Colorado River Bridge next to Hoover Dam will look someday.

Below, driving around a sharp corner, snapping photos from the car window

we find the parking garage.

Here is our first view of the dam as we walk from the parking garage.

Walking across Hoover Dam

The huge water intake towers on the lake side of the Dam.

Looking down at the power plant...

It was scary and windy!

The plaque on Hoover Dam

A plaque at the visitors center

Below we are actually driving over Hoover Dam

(You won't be able to do this ever again when the bridge is completed and the road is open)

The photo below was taken from my iphone so its a little grainy.

Below is a photo of the traffic jam we were in after we drove over Hoover Dam. Luckily it didn't last too long...

Only a few more miles...

A little background information on the project if you are interested:

THE ALTERNATIVE COLORADO RIVER CROSSING

The route of the road had to be changed and an alternate crossing of the river developed near the Hoover Dam. This new route would eliminate the problems with the existing roadway – sharp turns, narrow roadways, inadequate shoulders, poor sight distance and low travel speeds. To this end it was decided that a new crossing of the Colorado River had to be constructed in the vicinity of the Hoover Dam to improve the traffic conditions of this busy route.

The roadway is the primary route for commerce and travel between Phoenix and Las Vegas, with more than 17,000 vehicles using the highway each day. The accident rate in the bypass area is three times higher than the rest of US 93. The new Hoover Dam Bypass will include approximately 3.5 miles of new four-lane highway and a 1,900ft-long bridge over the Colorado River about 1,500ft south of the dam, which ties into existing US 93 on the east and west.

Thanks for visiting

The Project Table!

~Really Rainey~

St Patrick's Day potluck! Foodie Friday!

Welcome to another Fun Filled Foodie Friday!

Hosted by Designs By Gollum

Its the Saint Patrick Day Party!

I guess we should start with an appetizer. Like creamy Irish cheddar cheese with sesame crackers. 

How about a green apple martini?

Or a hearty Guinness!

For dinner I prepared Irish Stew!

Follow along...

Simple Fresh ingredients: 

And what makes this Stew Irish:

Chop meat and place in baggie with flour and spices:

Shake well to cover all the meat:

Brown meat in olive oil:

Add chopped onion:

Add a 1/2 cup red wine and deglaze the pan:

Add one whole can of Guinness: 

Add chopped carrots, potatoes fresh herbs

  and one carton of beef broth:

Bring to boil... 

lower heat and Slowly simmer for a couple of hours...

Serve with 

a cool Guinness! 

And for dessert:

 Some mini cakes:

And Coffee and Irish Cream:

And an ole Irish Toast:

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,

Who through strategy and stealth,

Drove all the snakes from Ireland,

Here’s a toasting to his health.

But not too many toastings

Lest you lose yourself and then

Forget the good Saint Patrick

And see all those snakes again.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thank you for visiting The Project Table!

~Really Rainey