THE DAY THE SUN SHINED...

Here in northern California

 we have had so much rain. 

 Creeks and rivers are overflowing,

 hillsides are sliding and 

dams are been pushed to their limits.

  Thankfully, 

we have not experienced any 

of those problems

 but have seen our share of 

high winds and 

torrential downpours.

California

 has been so dry 

for such a long time, 

hopefully, 

this will insure that

 our summer gardens

 will thrive 

once again.

Sandwiched in between storms,

 we had one day

 where the sunshine was strong and bright

 and our hopes that a soft spring 

was not too 

far ahead...

...I took my camera 

and followed the trail of

 some small pockets 

that were featured

in that spot light...

Whenever the sun comes out,

 I get sparks of energy 

that are missing

 during the winter months.

 Rather than taking 

to the outdoors 

and taking advantage

 of the beautiful weather,as most do,

I tend

 to want to 

clean inside...

...I am sure 

I'm not the only one 

that wishes, 

from time to time, 

that I had not given into 

the trend of stainless steel appliances.

  The constant wiping of fingerprints

 seems to be an all time occurrence.

  I can't even imagine 

having small children

 with busy little hands!

I have tried 

baby oil, soap and water,

 products made specifically 

for this problem 

and other than being worn out

 from trying to control all 

the streaks and smudges,

 none have been that successful.

 Until I found this...

www.weiman.com

Contains no ozone depleting substances

Made in the USA

...this works so well, 

it makes me want to use it! 

 One spray, a soft towel and magic happens! 

 No more sore muscles,

 just softly wipe and all is 

bright and shining again.

  I am not kidding here!  

You should give it a try.

 I'm not being paid to say this, 

but if I was,

 the company would sure get 

their monies worth!

 I love it that much.

All that energy I saved,

 I put into a meal that 

Sarah from Hyacinths For The Soul 

featured on her blog last week.

 It sounded so easy, healthy and good 

and it was all of those things.

  Chicken Milanese with 

baby arugula and tomato salad,

 and sweet potoato corn meal muffins.

  The whole meal was good but, 

in my mind, 

the stars of the show 

were those muffins:

SWEET POTATO CORN BREAD MUFFINS

2 T. vegetable oil, plus more for tins

1 large sweet potato - peeled and cut into large chunks.  (I used a yam because I like the taste better than sweet potatoes)

2 large eggs - slightly beaten

1 1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

Heat oven to 450

Lightly brush muffin tins with oil

Place potato in saucepan with cold water - bring to boil- reduce heat and simmer until tender

Drain potato - return to pot, mash until smooth

Measure out 1/2 cup of potato - put in large bowl - discard rest of potato (Or like I did, add butter, s&p and eat!!)

Add egg, oil and milk to mashed potato and stir to combine

Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in separate large bowl

Add potato mixture and mix until just combined - do not over mix

Pour batter into tins and bake until puffed and golden - about 20 minutes

Let cool five minutes, turn out and cool completely.

For a change, I think, raisins and walnuts would make a tasty addition.

They were especially great

 with a cup of tea.

 Thank you, Sarah.

On such a beautiful day

 how could you not 

yearn for more?

Everything is better 

served up 

with a side of

 sunshine.

The old rooster 

has seen his shadow.

Hopes for spring 

cannot be far behind.

...Judy...

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