Weekends



I have been seeing at least one of these fawns in the yard the past week or two, always without a camera!  Friday my family was in the pool and they were just at the edge of the property.  How exciting to have the camera on hand!!  I am pretty certain they live in our woods, aren't they beautiful?

My weekend was quite busy, at least to me.  On Saturday I finally went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It seems like yesterday the first one was released to the theater and I was taking my second grade boy (now 18!!!) with his friend.  I was surprised that the theater was not filled.  I guess everyone went to the midnight show on Thursday night.  I am usually sleeping then :)

So once the movie was over, we had a lovely dinner out while the kids had plans with their friends.  Once home I made a rice salad for Sunday's outing.

Sunday we drove to my dad's to celebrate his 70th birthday. We had chicken on the grill, fried fish (cannot remember what kind), rice salad, macaroni salad, roasted potatoes and watermelon.  The kids brought guitars and we had an impromptu sing-a-long.  

Joining Amanda at The Habit of Being

Clover requested the Rice salad recipe, so here it is! :

Mediterranean Rice Salad
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh oregano, minced
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped spinach leaves (fresh ones)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 cup crumbled feta cheese


In medium sauce pan, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil, add 1/2 tsp salt and the rice. Turn heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with fork. (I throw mine in a rice cooker--just cook the rice all the way! :)
In a large bowl, whisk lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, pepper, pepper flakes and remaining tsp. of salt.
Add rice to dressing and toss to combine. Add spinach, toss and let sit until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve at room temp or cold.
(from Sunset Magazine, Sept. 2006)  Recipe courtesy from Bethany Blogs.


Comments

  1. Tracey ~ CloverJuly 18, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    The deer are just beautiful and lucky you for having the camera! I have to tell you that I have never eaten rice salad before. Want to share the recipe? I would love to try it. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. bethanygJuly 18, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    What sweet deer! So glad you liked the rice. It's sounding perfect right about now too. mmmm

    My blog is woefully behind. :) I'll have to remedy that! Thanks for the mention though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tracey ~ CloverJuly 18, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    Oh yum! I can't wait to try this...thanks for adding it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    that salads looks amazing! And I love the deer. What a magical moment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. EmilyJuly 18, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    How neat to have deer so close on your property! Very cool.

    Chase and I saw Harry Potter early Friday morning and I was surprised, too, that the theater was not packed. We did the midnight showing last year and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but this year I decided I wanted to sleep more ;)

    The rice salad sounds awesome! I know my family would happily eat it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    Oh sweetness! And that salad - yummy! I still haven't seen Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows...so pathetic. I wonder if I can find theaters playing them back to back...wouldn't that be fun? Happy day to you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. no spring chickenJuly 18, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    The fawns ARE beautiful! What a blessing to have them visit you.

    I'll be trying the rice salad. I'm glad Tracey requested the recipe! Thanks for posting it... :)

    Blessings, Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  8. house full of jaysJuly 18, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    That salad sounds yummy!
    I'm laughing that you "finally" saw part two...a day after it's release?? I'm glad you got your act together. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. angJuly 18, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    Happy Birthday to your dad! Those baby deer are just gorgeous!
    xo,
    Ang

    ReplyDelete
  10. ErinJuly 18, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    We still haven't seen the movie... I plan to go with Oldest Daughter later this week. The salad sounds scrumptious... thanks for sharing it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. amanda {the habit of being}July 18, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    oh wow! that rice salad recipe sounds divine! thank you for sharing.

    and lucky you seeing such cute wildlife in your yard!

    ReplyDelete
  12. LydiaJuly 19, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    Oh, what adorable fawns! And that salad sounds yummy.

    ReplyDelete

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