Can You Smell It?

Spring is in the air. Maybe one day technology will offer the ability to transfer smells through the internet. But let's just pretend for now that you can smell this blog (assuming that you have the capability of smelling in the first place...sorry, Jenni!).

Isn't that smell just glorious? The first load of sheets/clothes hanging on the line this spring - aaaahhhhhh. 80 degrees outside with a perfect breeze blowing and not a cloud in the sky. When I think of spring and summer, this is what I think of.


(And one secret that I discovered to bring a touch of midwestern summer to a cold winter is taking that last chance to hang sheets on the line and then storing them away for a couple months. Right around the first or second week of January, beat those winter blues by using these sheets. It really is amazing how such a small thing boosts one's morale!)

There are a couple other fragrant things I think of at this time of year - and you definitely want to smell these! (Unfortunately, no pics). Basil burgers* sizzling on the grill and then going inside to the smell of hot biscuits for strawberry shortcake.

*Basil Burgers*

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions: Mix all ingredients together and form into 3/4" patties. Grill for preferred doneness. And if you like, throw a couple slices of Farmer cheese (or some other white mild cheese) on each burger a couple minutes before removing from grill. Warning: you'll never go back to regular burgers after trying these babies!

CreamyLingonKukenKaka (AKA Lingonberry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast - Swedish Style)

Some friends of mine have {graciously} been rocking my Swedish world and showing me that not all foods are Swedish just because a Swede cooked it. The most difficult one to accept was Panakuken (Swedish...I mean, Dutch, oven pancake). Apparently, Swedes are good stealers and just like to take credit for other people's recipes - we're convincing though, by just adding a "kuken" or a "kaka."

The other day, I was attempting to recreate a wonderful delicacy that Derek and I had at a B&B - cream cheese stuffed French Toast. Conveniently, the only preserves we had on hand to mix with the cream cheese were lingonberries! So, our breakfast ended up becoming Swedish after all - Swedish French Toast! It was pretty putsy, but it was worth it. Derek said, "It's like having cheesecake for breakfast." Mmmmm...

Foods That Make Me Praise God

-Cilantro
-Fresh Basil
-Garlic
-Shallots
-Freshly squeezed orange juice or lemonade
-Fresh Basil
-Anything on the grill
-Kenya AA Blue Mountain coffee
-Did I mention Fresh Basil???
-Anything from my garden (tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, herbs)
-Snow peas

There are definitely more, but these especially make my heart burst with praise for God's good gifts! And I'm convinced that Farmer's Markets will be in heaven, so if I'm not in front of God's throne, look for me in the Farmer's Market section. :) Everything will be free - of course.