Dog Day Afternoon on Hilton Head Island, S.C...Wordless Wednesday...

Summer Solstice with "Mr. Vundervants"...

~Summer time and the living is easy~

Ina's Tri-berry Muffins...hide your scales...foodie friday

Since berries are so abundant this time of year

and I was given a box of fresh fruit from this little cutie pie

I decided to whip up some muffins from the Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook.

These muffins are amazing. Why? When the recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter what's not to like.

These super moist muffins were gobbled up in record breaking time. Ina does not list the calories in her recipe book, but trust me when I say that these little gems can do some major damage to your scale. Life is short so splurge and eat one and give the rest to friends. If you are looking for a tried and true recipe give this sweet and tart muffin a try.

~AWESOME~

Ina's tri-berry muffins (adapted)

3 c flour all purpose flour

1 Tb baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tb ground cinnamon

1 1/4 c milk

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 c fresh blueberries

1/2 c fresh raspberries

1/2 c diced fresh strawberries

1 1/2 c sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line or grease muffin cups.
Sift dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In another bowl combine milk, eggs and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined. There will be lumps but don't overmix!
Now add the berries and sugar and stir gently. (yes, this is how it is written)
Fill muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick comes out clean and tops are nicely browned.

Makes 12-12-6 muffins.

Be sure to visit Foodie Friday Here hosted by Michelle of designsbygollum.

THE VINTAGE TABLE...Tablescape Thursday...

I WON!

Thank you to the sunny side of the porch HERE for hosting this wonderful giveaway contest. Please go and take a peak at her wonderful blog. I was the lucky winner of a copy of THE VINTAGE TABLE Personal TREASURES and Standout SETTINGS by Jacqueline deMontravel and the Editors of ROMANTIC HOMES MAGAZINE.


Ladies let me tell you to start your holiday shopping now for your friends and family who love to tablescape. This book is amazing EYE CANDY. The photography will inspire you to create a table setting that is fun and unforgettable. Treat yourself to a copy because you deserve it. You all know that I prefer to read cookbooks but I honestly can't stop reading this book. Yes, it is that good!

Here are some photos I snapped of the book to entice you all to buy a copy today!

Brunch anyone?

Dishing on Summer!

Hot reds in the kitchen!

Dinnerware tools to create a table!

Summer past to present tablescaping!

Blues clues to mix and match!

History of Kitchen Collectibles!

For more tried and true TST this week please visit our hostess Susan betweennapsontheporch HERE.

Lost in translation...

I'm wilting on Hilton Head Island...

H E L P
Heat index possibly 110* today.
Don't send chocolate!

Mosaic Monday ... beach baby...

This past week my daughters friend joined us on Hilton Head with little Oliver for some sun, surf & sand. Oliver was not a big fan of the ocean but enjoyed playing with water in the beach bucket. As all babies do he had a few tastes of the yucky sand. Due to the heat index it was way too hot to keep a baby on the beach for a long period of time. As you can see in one of the collage photos little Oliver was quickly headed for a nap and we were all headed back to the air conditioned house for a nap ourselves.

For more Mosaic Monday photos please visit our hostess Mary at the little red house HERE.

I'm in dry dock ...Mystery of the Hives...

Just like this fishing vessel I am in dry dock here on Hilton Head, S.C. No playing in the water for me today.

For those of you who read my post about Cobia Fish I want to tell you what happened to me after I ate the fish. I ended up in the ER at 4AM with a case of Acute Hives that were so bad I could not sit down on my " buttocks" to quote Forest Gump. The itching was worse then watching a flea on a dog and I had the urge to howl at the moon! I even had hives on my ears and on the back of my head as well as most of my trunk and under my arms.. I was covered in a giant ball of red skin that seemed to pop out of nowhere and attach itself onto the next hive creating a giant blob. Not a pretty sight.

I called my Dr. who suggested the regular procedure of some benedryl. It seemed to take the itch away for about 2 hours but there were so many new hives there was no way I could keep up with this so I decided after 24 hours the ER was the best place for me as my hands were getting numb and my upper lip felt like it was swelling. It really scared me. Hubby said can you wait until morning? I told him to turn on the lights and take a look at me. The look on his face confirmed that I had indeed turned into a character in a horror movie.

The Dr. in the ER said he could not say for sure if it was the Cobia fish, a fish bite on my foot (not jelly most likely not sting ray as he could not see a barb), or the new flavor of sun chips I was eating , or an exposure to a chemical as I was playing in the garden or a bee bite. I am allergic to bees and would have blown up like a blow fish within 5 minutes so I know it was not a bee. It is a mystery?

Lots of meds in the ER and 4 prescriptions later I am feeling better. The hives are receding and thankfully less itching. As you can tell from writing this I can now sit on my Buttocks once again. Of course I am having a reaction to one of the meds as I awoke this AM with a beet red face. I not sure which med is causing this problem? It is a never ending battle. So here I sit in dry dock contemplating the great mysteries of life!

I am not sure if it is the Cobia fish but I wanted to say to those of you who have shell fish allergies you may not want to eat the Cobia even though it is Not a shell fish. I am allergic to crab and lobster but not to shrimp or other shell fish which is strange.

I was given an epi pen to carry with me at all times and was told to inject myself and go directly to the ER at the first sign of my next hive episode. I pray this is the last of the hives for me ever again!

Foodie Friday... Grilled Cobia Fish...

This week I wrote about buying local fish here on Hilton Head Island, S.C. HERE. I returned to the fish market and purchased a pound of Cobia fish which served three adults.

I grilled the Cobia and we agreed that the Cobia was meaty and delicious and had a nice mild flavor. It is not a flaky fish like Talapia, I would definitely purchase Cobia again when it is in season. Ask your local fish market if they carry Cobia and try it. You will not be disappointed.

Recipe can be found HERE.

For more Foodie Friday recipes please visit our host Michelle at designsbygollum HERE.

Fresh local seafood on Hilton Head Island...

It sure does not get any fresher then shrimp boats pulling up to the docks here on Hilton Head to unload their catch of the day. This is the beginning of shrimp season here in South Carolina. Shrimp season runs here until the water turns cold in the winter.

If you are visiting Hilton Head make a stop at Benny Hudsons Seafood and speak with Tanya (above photo) who will give you the heads up on what fish are running at the present time.

Right now Grouper and Snapper and Cobia are running (outside) off shore toward the golf shore.

Cobia is served grilled or poached. Chefs Jaimie Oliver and Mario Batali once had the "Battle of the Cobia" on Iron Chef America in Januray 2008.

Local bass are running inside the perimeter but I really want to try the Cobia this week.

Anyone have a tired and true Cobia recipe to share with me?

Please remember to buy locally whenever you can to support your local fishermen.

I am linking to Watery Wednesday HERE
&
I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday HERE

Color magic on a hot summers day!

My friend Annie once gave me some words to live by:

"There is not that much in life you can really control,
but you sure can control the color or your hair."

To view more Mosaic Mondays please visit Mary at the little red house here.

TRAGEDY coming to your area soon thanks to BP...

I am so upset at what is happening on the coast with the oil. Today the CEO of BP put out a commercial on TV saying that this would not cost taxpayers a nickle. Is he willing to buy our homes that are on the coast surrounded by oil or pay the fishermen who now have no jobs etc.?

Why doesn't BP fire this CEO and also make him say publicly that he was wrong. Not to have a solution to this problem before they started drilling?

My bet would be he walks away with a golden parachute and lives on a beautiful beach that is not surrounded with oil and we are left using our parachutes to clean up the BP mess for generations to come.

Vote Vets has a wonderful commercial on TV now that you may want to take a peak at HERE