Mother’s Day on the Lanai

Mother’s Day on the Lanai

 

 

 

 

Gordon and Julie

Happy Mother’s Day

A Carved Rose in a Turnip and a Small Radish Mouse that sits a Top

Julie’s Flowers

Welcome to our Backyard Lanai

Welcome to My Mother’s Day

My Name is Julie

This is My Mother’s Day on the Lanai

Mother’s Day to me is a day that I look forward to.  It’s not about honoring me per say, it’s about recognizing how much I love my children and their partners.  It’s about how much I love my husband.  It’s about acknowledging my specific talents as a mother.  Not all of us are the same.  Some mother’s bring to the table their own specific talents or dedications to their families and their children.  What I hope my Mother’s Day is about is the time that my children spend with me.  I don’t care about gifts.  I do love flowers though.  I do love cards.

I would much rather have something genuinely thoughtful than something expensive. 

The kind of gifts that I have loved in the past were when my children would wash my car, or clean my bathroom, or cook me something special and nice.  Or just sit with me on the couch eating T.V. dinner’s and watching a favorite movie together.

As I see it, I am old enough to buy myself whatever I want so material things aren’t important to me.  What I would rather have are the more thoughtful things in life from my loved ones.  And that is what they gave me here.

Although this Mother’s Day was spent during the 2020 Pandemic and we didn’t have our Veronica or Brian with us, we did have Brodie and Mackenzie here and they, along with Gordon, made my day very special.

All I really wanted was my southern heritage tea sandwiches and pretty decorated outside tables with lovely flowers, my Great-Grandmother’s Blue Willow China, My Grandmother’s Antique Silverware, Crystal, and everything beautiful in between.  And, that is exactly what I got.

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So, I would like to welcome you once again…..

Come on in Y’all!

Ya Hungry?

Here, grab a plate and help yourself.

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My Mother’s Day Table

We have some lovely selections for you to choose from.

This is one of my favorites, a Calla Lily Tea Sandwich

(The recipe for this is to simply take one slice of bread with the crust cut off.  Use a glass or rolling pin to flatten the bread.  Spread some cream cheese onto the bread.  You can use a spiced cream cheese or a plain.  Next, wrap the bread around a green spring onion and secure with a toothpick.  Now place some shredded carrots into the center and perhaps sprinkle with some paprika or red pepper if you like.  Now you have a lovely flower.  Very easy to do.)

Manchego Cheese Slaw

Olive and Pecan Tea Sandwiches

Carrot/Cucumber Tea Sandwiches Tied w/ our Fresh Chives

Lemon Pepper Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

A Rose Gordon Carved out of a Turnip

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A Lovely Variety of Tea Sandwiches

Fresh Strawberry’s

Green Grapes

Cream Cheese and Dill Pickle Sandwiches, and Radish and Cucumber Sandwiches

(In order to make the Radish and Cucumber Sandwiches I just took slices of bread and spread cream cheese onto them.  I then added very thinly sliced Radishes and Cucumbers.  Easy and pretty.)

Edible Vegetable Flowers

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I love being the Matriarch of this Family. 

Gordon and I did a good job of raising our children.  To me that is what Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is about.  It’s not so much about me/us, but it’s about our children and how great they truly are.

A toast to all good Mother’s everywhere.

  Anyone can be a mother, but it takes someone special to be a good mother.

My Very Special Mother’s Day Plate

What a Lovely Lunch

Can You Find Sparky?

Goofy Gordon  🙂

Gordon, Brodie and Mackenzie Helping Themselves

(Nothing says Mother’s Day like Star Wars.)  🙂

See Sparky Again?  🙂

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Spooky Lou in the Mother’s Day Chair

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Our Mother’s Day Foods

Manchego Cheese Slaw and Grilled Radishes

The Manchego Cheese Slaw is leftover from the day of Mother’s Day, while Gordon added the Grilled Radishes to our meal the following day.

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The Turnip That Gordon Carved into a Rose

Looks Lovely in our Slaw

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Cute Doggie Break

Little Spooky Lou all Comfy Cozy

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How We Did It All

We love our backyard lanai, and we do love entertaining outdoors in our backyard.  Every spring we clean it all up, which requires us to pressure wash and bleach in order to get everything bright white.  We also take the time to weed out our plants and trees so that they can flourish through the seasons.

We love the space that we have, and we use it every chance that we get.

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My Mother’s Day meal was based on some of my favorite things.  Both tasty and beautiful.  Growing up in Georgia and the south in general tea sandwich picnic’s were a lovely, elegant affair.  The ladies pulled their talents together and would create the most beautiful of table settings.  That is what I based this Mother’s Day on.

I miss all those elegant ladies that went to so much trouble to give me beautiful memories of them.  🙂

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Grilled Radishes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. Radishes – sliced in half

4 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 t. Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

6-8 Large Springs of Thyme, Removed From Stem…

With Some Reserved for Topping

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(Sadly, I believe this is the only picture that I, Julie, took of the making of this dish.)

Gordon’s Write-up:

Wash the radishes and then slice them in half.  Place all the ingredients into a large zip lock bag and mix well.  Place the bag into the refrigerator overnight.  Once marinated, spread the radishes evenly on a cooling rack placed on top of your grill reserving the oil in the bag for later.  I use a baking cooling rack, so small ingredients don’t fall through the grill grate.  Grill the radishes on both sides over medium heat until just tender or about 4 min. per side.  Place the grilled radishes in a bowl using any of the marinating oil and herbs as a sauce.  Add more oil and herbs as necessary and mixing them well, placing some herbs on top as a garnish.

TIP: If you don’t have access to a grill, here is another way to cook the radishes.  Remove the radishes and spread them evenly on a large sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Roast them in a 400’F oven for 20 to 25 min. or until the radishes become brown and caramelized.

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Manchego Cheese Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

1 Savoy Cabbage – sliced finely

3 Granny Smith Apples – cored and sliced thinly

2 Red Delicious Apples – cored and sliced thinly

2 Pears – cored and sliced thinly

1/2 Jalapeno Pepper – de-seeded and sliced thinly

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

1/2 Tbsp. Roasted Garlic Powder

2 Tbsp. Aji-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning

1/2 Cup Sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 Cup sliced Chives

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

6 oz. Manchego Cheese – grated

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(I, Julie, LOVE Manchego Cheese!)  🙂

This is a very Crunchy and Crispy Slaw

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Place your Greek yogurt, sour cream and mayonnaise into a medium sized bowl.

Then add your roasted garlic and Mirin to the bowl…

then your sugar.

Now add your salt and pepper to the bowl and mix all your ingredients well.  Taste the dressing and add any previous ingredients as needed.

Finely chop your Jalapeno Pepper and Chives

and then add them to the dressing.

 

In a large bowl, add your lemon juice.  Slice your apples in half and remove the seeds, then slice the halves again in half.  Mix the apples with the lemon juice so the apples don’t brown.

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Remove the apple quarters and slice them thinly, then place them back into the bowl with the lemon juice.

Do this for all the apple quarters, then mix all the apple slices and the lemon juice together.

Slice the pears the same way and add them to the bowl and mix them well.

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Now, slice your Savoy cabbage in half and remove the core at its base using a triangle like cut.  Slice the cabbage halves thinly as shown.

Place the sliced cabbage in a very large bowl and add most of the dressing to the sliced cabbage.

Mix all the ingredients well, adding any more dressing as needed.

Apple and Pear Slices Ready to Add to the Bowl

Add your apple and pear slices to the cabbage bowl and grate your Manchego cheese into the mixture.  Add as much or as little cheese as you like.

Here I felt the slaw needed just a little more of the dressing so I added it.  As you can see, I still had some dressing remaining.

Let the slaw sit in the bowl allowing it to wilt slightly.

Place the slaw into a large Tupperware bowl and top with a lid and place it in the refrigerator in order to chill it, until ready to eat.

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Making Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber and Carrot

Ingredients:

1/2 Cucumber – grated

1/2 Medium Sweet Onion – grated

3 each Orange, Yellow and Purple small carrots – grated

1 1/2 Package (8 oz.) Cream Cheese – softened

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

Salt and Pepper to taste

Shred the vegetables into a medium sized bowl lined with a cloth kitchen towel.

Like so…

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Gather the towel together forming a ball and squeeze the vegetable tightly to release their juices.

Here is the end result.

Mix together the softened cream cheese and mayonnaise.

Add the vegetables to the bowl…

and mix them all together well.  Add your salt and pepper to taste.  Spread this mixture in a thin layer over a slice of bread and top with another slice of bread.  Cut off the crust and edges of the bread to create your Tea Sandwich.

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Lemon Pepper Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Lemon Pepper

1 x 8 oz. package Cream Cheese – softened

8 Slices of Bread

Mix your softened Cream Cheese and Lemon Pepper in a bowl.

Spread your cream cheese over the bread slices and cut the bread into various shapes using cookie cutters.

Here, Brodie and Mackenzie are making some of the sandwiches.

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Dill Pickle and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Dill Pickles – medium sized, patted dry

1 x 8 oz. package Cream Cheese – softened

8 Slices of Bread, crusts removed

Spread your Cream Cheese over a single slice of bread and place a dry dill pickle into the center of the bread.  Wrap the bread around the pickle and then slice the bread and pickle in 3/4 inch slices.

We placed ours on a bed of parsley to serve.

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Olive and Pecan Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 x 8 oz. packages Cream Cheese – softened

3 Tbsp. Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives – sliced

1 Cup Pecan Halves – toasted, then chopped

1 Tbsp. Greek Seasoning

Whole Wheat Slices of Bread

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Toast your Pecan halves on a sheet pan in a 350’F oven for about 5 min. or until you can start to smell them.  Roasting the pecans will enhance their flavoring.

Add your cream cheese to a large bowl to soften, and add your Greek Seasoning.

Let the pecan halves cool.

Mix the seasoning and cream cheese together.

Slice the pitted Kalamata Olives into thin slices and add them to the bowl.

Chop your pecan halves and add them to the bowl.

Pour your heavy whipping cream into the bowl and mix all the ingredients well.

Spread the mixture thinly over bread slices making your tea sandwiches and using a pecan half to top the sandwich as a garnish.

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Making Vegetable Flowers

Aren’t They Beautiful?

Gordon picked up a Garnishing Made Easy DVD a few years ago at a Food Expo in Orlando.  I had always wanted us to try out hand at making pretty flowers out of vegetables and that day finally came.  My day, Mother’s Day!

I never had time to make any but Gordon, Brodie and Mackenzie did.  Look at all their pretty flowers above?  I was so proud of them and the time they took to create them for my special day.  I really am lucky!  🙂

 

Radishes Make Nice Sturdy Flowers, or Cute Little Mice

I cannot even begin to describe to you what all they did but here is their mess.  🙂

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Just Some More of Their Mess

Here is a sampling of their work.  In order to keep the cucumbers and radishes pliable, they kept them soaking in water in order to be able to form them into flowers.

They Secured Them With Toothpicks

Placed Into a Colander to Drain the Water

Keep them in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

They made a lovely garnish or an edible flower for your table.

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Mother’s Day Dinner Cont…

Just some of the leftovers sauteed in a pan with some olive oil until softened.

Like so….

Now let’s just grill some brats and chicken sausages on the grill and have some of our leftover Manchego Cheese Slaw and our Grilled Radishes.  Perfect Day!

 

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Happy Mother’s Day,

Julie

My Mother’s Day gift from Veronica, a Plumeria Plant. 

We had one in our backyard in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

Happy Mother’s Day

Keep all your mom’s safe!

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If you would like to view our other Mother’s Day posts:

Click Here For:  Mother’s Day in the Garden

And,

Click Here For:  Remembering These Women on Mother’s Day

And,

Click Here For:  The Meaning of Mother’s Day

And,

Click Here For:  Easy Festive Desserts for Mother’s Day

And,

Click Here For:  Tasty Tea Sandwiches and Sweet Treats