One of the many reasons I love summer is ...Basil. The husband said I was "weird" when I brought a big bunch from farmer's market, buried my nose into it and smelled it forever. "Smell it, baby! Its smells so fresh." His response was, "It smells like grass." OK then :)
Yes, I love fresh basil. The dry kind just doesn't do justice. I love how it flavors food, how it makes my kitchen smell, how pretty it is and now I am patiently waiting for it to grow in my "garden."

Some moons ago, husband and I visited Chicago and stopped for some pizza at one of the local joints, Lou Malnati's I believe it was. And that was the first time I tried Creamy Basil-Tomato Soup. Oh heavens!!
After reading and trying different recipes, I sort of made my own recipe of this wonderfully creamy basily soup.
Creamy Tomato Soup
Ingredients:

1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 big onion, chopped
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (ideally you want about 3 to 4 lb of fresh juicy tomatoes)
1 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups of chicken broth (or stock. Will make it even more flavorful)
basil - about a cup - rolled the leaves up into a cigar/tube and thinly slice
salt
pepper
some sugar
1 cup of heavy cream

Saute onion in olive oil and butter until tender. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, salt, pepper, and some sugar, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cover. Simmer for 35-40 min. Take off the heat, pour it into blender and blend until smooth (but NOT baby food smooth! you want some texture). I used immersion blender, which worked fine as well. Pour it back in the soup pot and keep it on low. Gradually whisk in a cup of heavy cream, let warm thru for 5-8 minutes. Voila! Garnish with fresh basil if you like. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for some salty action.
*** you may also add garlic when you saute the onion but be careful not to add too much. Too strong of garlicky flavor will "kill" the soup flavor.

One the side I served fresh mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches.
For 3 servings:
6 slices of crusty Italian bread
3 thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
3 slices of deli's provolone cheese (package one will work too!)
Smeared some butter on each side and grilled them in a pan. If you have panini grill - it will work perfect!
I added some Balsamic Vinegar reduction onto mine - YUMMY! (just boil 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and then reduce to simmer for 15 min -  sweet and tangy and super delicious on this kind of bread)
The husband asked for another sandwich, had to tell him no! (saving fresh mozzarella for Eggplant Parmesan tomorrow) So instead he ate our daughter portion of the soup. Alrighty. All this talk about basil smelling like grass :)

I also think it would be pretty amazing to add some fresh garden tomato slice and basil leaves into this sandwich. Next time.

Perfect dinner for a rainy summer Sunday!

Pryatnogo appetita, dryz'ya!

Summer, summer, summa time

1 month of summer down ( I count from June 1st)

Here is what we have been up to:

• Being silly - favorite thing to do
• Lots of pool time
• Reading
• Cartoons :)
• Exploring the area, meeting new peeps
• Vacation Bible School week

Pool time with COUSINssss!!

 Movie at the park 

 Yay!! we got to hang with cousins!

 Choo-choo goes the train - exploring Raleigh. So much fun!!

  Train-heaven at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC

"Mama, Im gunna make you ..fish" Yes, thats my kid! 

 so much to see, so much to do - check out this cool submarine

 this was his favorite part of the museum - pizza place. Well, second favorite..trains win the first place. 

"What do you want on your pizza, mama?"

 He got really upset when someone took his pizza out of the oven while he wasnt looking, so he made another one and guarded it until it was "done."  :)))

 My favorite chef!!  (kind of blinked here)  Sofie was mad she didnt get to make the pizza. Oh may be she was exhausted from all the playing she did. 

 What can be better than an ice-cream on a hot stormy summer night?!! 

 We are so thankful for the pools in our "backyard." Sofia prefers to hang out poolside rather than swim

 Cheezzeee!

 Daddy grilled wonderfully yummy dinner tonight!! Corn on the cob with butter, salt and pepper - now, thats Summer! 

As I sit here and reflect on each moment, each memory..my heart overflows ...and I must remind myself to be thankful, to say thanks, to give thanks, to live thankfulness...I must remember that I don't deserve anything, that every day is a gift from God..truly is..and I must remember that...not take it for granted. 

I love summer. I love all things summer BUT the heat of summer. I can survive in 85F degree weather; anything above that ...well, thank goodness for air conditioning :) One of my favorite things is fruit and vegetables that come during summer months. So my hubby and I discovered an awesome farmer's market, literally..Farmer's Market: fruit, vegetables, herbs, cheese, fish, meat. Amazingness! Reminded me of home...*sniff*
So I packed the kids and off we went. What a hot day it was?! Phew! Sticky, humid, but any day is a good day for fresh produce.
It was a quick but productive trip. I was inspired to make an eggplant parmesan with basil and eggplants we bought at the market. Oh the yumminess!

Husband approved, kid devoured it. Fresh vegetables and fresh mozarella is the key.
I dont  make it often - its time consuming, but it will definitely be showing up on our table this summer.
Once I figure out how to attach the recipe, I will do so...

Happy summer!

so do you want to know how the rest of my Friday went? well...it was smooth sailing..until I spilled Welch's grape juice (and not the white grape kind) and ketchup simultaneously on the light beige carpet. Yes. I am very coordinated like that. I was trying to put away 64 oz  of juice bottle in the fridge along with a small ketchup container...the lid on the juice bottle was open...and the ketchup somehow got busted...Yes.  I sighed. Very loudly. But I reminded myself of a promise I made to myself not to freak out...plus my kids were watching me..watching my every move....Yes, my old self would flip the biscuit! Scream. Blame. Oh yes. Blame. Everyone. And everything including the dumb juice bottle cap. Yes. I raised my voice today, but only to remind my children to observe my disaster on the sidelines and not to step onto my newly colored purple and red carpet. I cleaned it. The husband came in just in time to wisk away the little princess. He also helped clean. The carpet looks like nothing ever happened, same old dirty light beige carpet. How do I find miracle in such moments? I dont know...but for now I thought.."Hey, this is not the end of the world. Its just juice and ketchup. I have carpet. I have a beautiful home. I have wonderful kids. I have amazing husband. Who cares about the stupid carpet?!"

I am kind of woozy right now...I have major teeth pain...long overdue rootcanals are kicking in...so I am on some medication..and I am still trying to be thankful...heard on the news that 6 people in California were killed in a shooting spree today....Sad...so very sad...so I am enduring pain and trying to be thankful in the midst of it ..thankful that my Heavenly Loving Father gave me another day to live...to see, to be, to smile, to watch my babies grow, laugh, cry, play, run, mess up this place, to feel my husband's embrace, to hear his voice...Thank you God...Here it is...Miracle. Life. Life is a miracle.

And to round up the post. Here is what we had for a side to our fajitas tonight....

Easy-peasy Hummus ( I know hummus and fajitas dont go together. But who came up with that rule? :) )
Yes. I love lots of olive oil on mine.

and homemade pita chips. Ok. Semi-homemade. Whole wheat pita bread cut in 8 pieces each, drizzled with EVOO and baked at 375 F 4 minutes on each side. Delicious!
I used to just mash up the hummus, add chopped garlic and olive oil and call it hummus  :) Not so much anymore.
1 can of chickpeas
2-5 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 clove of garlice (half of the whole clove!)
1/4 cup tahini sauce  - this is what makes the hummus AMAZING! Seriously.
salt
cumin - pinch
I dont have a food processor, so I still mash all the ingredients with a potato masher. I used garlic masher for my garlic. The hummus comes out much more coarse than the store bought kind. But we are used to it, so no biggie for us but by all means use food processor. At the end I did use as I call it "stand up" blender I used to make baby food to kind of make it smoother.
Its good! Try it.

Meds are kicking in. Better go catch some zzzzzzzs...

Its Friday..

Dishes are piled up high. Toys are everywhere. Shoes are scattered in the hallway - a mud room to have would be a dream..but for me more like a "dirt" room. Beds are to be made, bathrooms cleaned, laundry folded, dinner started, emails answered, children fed, books read, little bumbums wiped..oh I forgot...a shower for me is in order...but that will come hopefully after the dishes washed and lunches served...My promise to myself today is to count it all joy...to find blessings in each given task/chore/conversation....Thats my goal..and thats my promise to myself...Its 11:16am..i took the time to bike 18 miles in one hour this morning...i feel good, I feel I accomplished a goal, I pushed myself to the limit, I sweat, I worked hard...and now i record it here on my blog to remind myself to work hard to count my blessings all day...to see the miracles in the everyday living...to feel good about my "housewife" life and receive it with thanksgiving..
May your Friday be blessed..May you see the God of Heaven and Earth and His abundant love for you in small things..may you take the time to notice the miracles...