Category — Linda

Sometimes a proud mom just has to brag about her children. Today is one of those days, so please bare with me. The picture below is from Connor’s 18th birthday (he is now 19  1/2 years old) and he had just blown out the candles from his favorite kind of cake, which would best be called “chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!” I am posting this picture and the recipe for the cake, not because we celebrate half birthdays around here,  but because I want to tell you how proud I am of my son.

Connor will have a weekly comic strip in The Lumberjack, Northern Arizona University’s newspaper! So very cool! His older sister, Marissa, who recently graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Arizona, wrote for her newspaper, The Wildcat, and now Connor will be published too. Marissa is equally proud of her “little” brother, as you can see by yesterday’s post on her blog, as seen HERE.  Yes, she beat me to it, and that kinda makes me doubly proud of both of them. xoxo

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My beautiful, talented, and generous friend and neighbor, Amy Kilpatrick, embroidered these adorable tea towels for me. I love them to pieces and now she is going to teach me how to embroider – believe me, that is a friend!

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After my post two days ago telling of the upcoming classes I’ll be teaching at Les Gourmettes Cooking School, I’ve received about a dozen emails asking for the schedule. Since the demand appears to be high, I’m posting it here for all.

If you are interested in signing up for the classes, please act quickly, there are only 16 initial spaces available. Mail a check made out to Les Gourmettes Cooking School for the full amount ($150) to 6610 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85012.  Please include a sheet of paper with your name, address, phone, email address, and “Linda’s Series” written on it with the payment.

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Another day, another post without a recipe. Sorry, but it’s the holiday weekend, right?  More news to share though. I found out too late to pick up a copy, but in the August 2010 issue of AZ-Lifestyle magazine, LPG was featured. Don’t get me wrong, I knew we’d be featured, the reporter was here in June interviewing and taking pictures. I just did not know it had come and gone from newsstands.  Oh well, here’s what the LPG portion looked like. And following in yesterday’s footsteps, here is a link to the previously posted Coconut Mango Cupcakes seen in the photo below! As an added bonus; it’s a great recipe to revisit if you need a refresher course on how to cut open a mango.

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There is no recipe today. Sorry to disappoint, Sloane! But there are several links throughout this post to recipes that have previously appeared here…

This past Thursday I received some exciting news… one of my blog recipes will be featured in an upcoming cookbook! If you were one of the people who voted for my Martini Puffs to be included in the “Cocktails & Appetizers” section of the book… Thank You!

After I submitted the recipe, more than six months ago, I forgot about it. So this is a happy surprise. 

The book will be available on October 19, 2010. If you would like to pre-order a copy of the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook from Amazon you can do so by clicking THIS LINK. And no, sadly I do not get any $$ from the sales… it may be time to do a book of my own!

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Today is my friend, Larry Fitzgerald’s, 27th birthday. Larry and I began cooking together when he was only 22 and I was exactly twice his age (ouch!). He was a star wide receiver even then, beginning only his second season, but now – well, now he’s a superstar. Deservedly so! He’s beyond talented. Larry has an incredible work ethic and is as humble as can be, one of the nicest and most genuine people on the planet. It would be hard for the average person to imagine being as humble as he is after you watch this amazing video from ESPN Sport Science.

Dave, Marissa, and I attended the Second Annual Larry Fitzgerald & Friends Celebrity Servers Night to benefit The Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Foundation and The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund, last night at Morton’s. My favorite thing about the photo of us above is how I’m looking at my camera that Marissa is holding, and Larry is looking at the camera that his professional photog is holding. So neither picture turned out well, so typical!

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I tossed all the eligible names into a large copper pot, blindfolded myself, tightly squeezed my eyes shut, held my breath, and then drew one name out from all the comments/entries; and the winner is….

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That’s right, the LPG blog is 1 year old today! This is post #347! If you haven’t been along for the ride since day one, here is a LINK to August 16, 2009.

The reason for the big countdown on each of the last week’s posts wasn’t just to say, “Hey, look at me and my huge accomplishment of sticking with this blogging thing for a whole year! Can you believe I posted just about every day, only “taking off” 15 days out of 365?”  Although, I do want to shout that from the top of Camelback Mountain. It has also been a build-up to the fabulous Give-Away to celebrate the 1 year anniversary or as it’s known in the world of bloggers, the 1st Blogiversary.

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The title of this post is frightening to anyone who really knows me. If I’ve ever left you a voicemail while I’m driving, you already know how I tend to go on and on and on. I begin with the reason for my call, with every minute detail imaginable. Then I will whine about how sad I am that I didn’t reach you personally. And if traffic is bad or there is a horrific driver in my path (and really, when isn’t there?!) I will tell you all about it. After that useless information, I’ll feel the need to let you know where, why, how, who, what, and where I am going. But aside from the part you just read, this post is not like that…

Instead, I am going to share with you some cool stuff of late… at least I think it’s cool stuff.

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This is the typical sort of dinner you’ll get at our house on a day when I don’t want to venture out in the 110 degree suffocating heat just to get groceries! I will do anything to avoid leaving the air-conditioned loveliness that is my house!

First I look in the refrigerator – not much there. More smoked pork, but we’ve had that 2 days in a row, so that will not fly with my guys. Produce drawers – bell peppers, wilting green onions, romaine that has about 24 hours before decisions must be made, and a surprisingly good-looking bunch of cilantro.

Next stop – garden – ugg! Everything is looking sad, drought-ridden, and parched! Snip off the last bit of tarragon and get back into the A/C!

What about the pantry – nothing at all inspiring. There is pasta, but that’s always sitting there…. Why in God’s name do these people need to eat every darn day – don’t they know how hot it is?!?!  OK, compose yourself.

Last stop the freezer – oh the glorious coldness that flows from the freeze finally gives me the inspiration I have been so very desperate for! What miracles do I find there? Nothing all that much really – shrimp, edamame, and peas – but it is enough.

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