Dominique Eastwick

from Lizzie T. Leaf  I've used sesame chicken sauce often on poultry and one day I decided to give it a try on fresh salmon. End result was yummy. I hope you think so, too. Photo Courtesy of Robson Melo Pixabay SALMON 1 lb. salmon filet with bottom skin  1 small onion, sliced thin  ½ to ¾ cup of sesame chicken sauce Be sure to check for pin bones on the fish. If you find some use tweezers for best results. Place salmon in a plastic bag with sliced onions. Pour sauce over and massage to work sauce over the salmon and onions.   Marinade in refrigerator at least 2-3 hours (or night before if you work). Occasionally turn so sauce contacts all of the fish. If you refrigerated the night before then turn the bag in the morning before you leave. Preheat oven to 400° F. Place salmon skin side down in an oiled skillet. Lay onions on top. Bake 20 minutes or until fish flakes. ROASTED SWEET POTATOES 1 sweet potato per person ...

Make Sunday morning special with this delicious and easy make-ahead meal. Serve with mini croissants or French bread, butter and jelly. Hash browns and fruit salad are nice accompaniments. Mimosas are a lovely drink to top off your breakfast/brunch. Breakfast Soufflé  1 pound ham, bacon, or breakfast sausage  9 eggs, lightly beaten  3 cups milk  1 tsp. dry mustard  Diced green, red, and/or yellow pepper to taste  4 – 1 inch slices Vienna or French bread,  cubed ½ pound sharp cheddar cheese,  ½ pound Swiss or Gruyere cheese, or a combination of the two grated  Diced onion to taste  Freshly ground black pepper to taste   Preheat oven to 350°F. Dice the ham or bacon. If you use ham, set aside in the bowl you choose for the eggs. Fry bacon to the crispness you prefer. If you use breakfast sausage, fry the meat until no longer pink. Be sure to break up any clumps. Drain the meat in a colander while you contin...

by Emma Lane Gardens grow of their own volition. You labor with the lay out and lovingly place the plants. By the third year, your garden has selected what it will and will not accept. But it’s gorgeous, healthy and you wouldn’t change a single thing. (Okay, maybe you’ll move that fragrant dianthus in front of that balloon flower which is taller.) Some of it is your fault because you couldn’t resist that church sale and your neighbor shared several perennials. Status normal. Allow your garden nostalgia. You show it off by saying, “I got that one for next to nothing on sale, Susan Smith gave me that one when she moved to Florida, I miss her so! My mother-in-law finally broke down and shared that rose. Would you believe how she can make cuttings and root them?” This iris came from … and that one came from… SEASONAL: Do plan spring shrubs/bulbs which are so welcome. Fall red/yellow leaves. INVASIVE: When someone mentions the plant is invasive, believe it! I love the gol...

When Passions Collide by Janis Lane  Some of you know my day job deals with plants in all sorts of ways from wedding flowers to church bouquets to perennials and annuals. I call it playing in the greenhouses. It is one of my passions. The other is writing. Mostly I have not given any of my characters, either historical or contemporary, permission to dialog about gardening. With Whispers of Danger and Love , I am exposing my love of plants through the personality of Cheryl Esterbrook, a landscape designer. She has other things to think besides the hunky detective who lives next door. Cheryl is stuck with a mobster who hired her to design a complete landscape in two weeks and a creepy former boyfriend who will not stop annoying her. This book is a romance, an adventure, a mystery, and a glimpse into the world of plants. Did I love writing it? You bet I did! Hope you enjoy reading. My favorite plant? Crocosmia. For more info on this lovely plant, please click here . If you lik...

A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT by Anne Montgomery Twenty years into my officiating career, my superiors finally relented and allowed me and my peers to wear sunglasses in the field, but, by then, my eyes were already damaged. “You’re blood pressure is a little high,” the nurse said. I smiled. “Could it be that you’re about to stick sharp objects in my eyeball while I’m awake?” My flippant answer belied the fact that I was certainly nervous, since the surgeon would soon be probing the inner recesses of my eye which a scalpel, a tiny ultrasound wand, and an itty-bitty vacuum cleaner. That I had waited patiently for my insurance company to cover the surgery for years did not make me feel any better as they wheeled me into the operating room. My vision had been deteriorating for a decade. I can now hear those coaches who have complained about my officiating screaming in unison: “We always knew she was blind!” Admittedly, while I could certainly see all those behemoths holding o...

EASY SWEET from Chris Pavesic  These treats mirror the taste of a mass-produced candy bar while at the same time being made with simple ingredients. My family likes a bittersweet chocolate with a high amount of cacao, but you can use whatever type of chocolate you like the best. These pair exceptionally well with a dish of homemade vanilla ice cream. Chocolate Coconut Squares 6 oz. sweetened condensed milk 1 tbsp. vanilla 1/8 tsp. salt 2 cups powdered sugar 14 oz. sweetened shredded coconut 16 oz. bittersweet chocolate (1 bag of chocolate chips can be substituted.) 2 tbsp. melted butter Extra butter to coat aluminum foil Line an 8x8 straight edged pan with aluminum foil, overlapping the edges, and lightly coat with butter. Combine condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until you have a smooth mixture. Add coconut and mix until thoroughly coated and combined. Pour mixture into the prepared pan ...

BANTHA POO DOO by Elliott Baker Continuing with one of the themes in The Sun God’s Heir trilogy, power continues to fascinate me. So many questions. If we have so much of it, and we do if we measure it in total rather than by each, why aren’t we (again I’m exploring a gross generalization) happier. In this global we, I include the fabulously wealthy among us as well as the power mongers and dictators. What is power? There are a couple of definitions, but I’ll use this one: the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. An easy answer would be survival. In the good old Cro-Magnon days, a single human even armed, was not very high up on the actuarial scale. Two or more was the imperative. I imagine the big question was “Do we fight or run,” with the Super Bowl ring going to the winning answer. With two people, you might have two answers. With three, depending on their ethnicity, who knows how many. I’m being very positive h...