Summer has officially begun!

Summer in the Creamer household has officially begun. The first week was a week of leisure for the kids. Danny went to a birthday party at Skateworld on the 1st,

officially partying on the first day of June. Then they went swimming, and Danny, who was still basking in the glow of this Memorial Day 2nd place finish,

got to bring his friend Chase along.

When he wasn't racing Chase or diving for items at the bottom of the pool, he was showing off his muscles.

Then the kids got to stay the night at their grandparents' house, and we missed them so much. Here they are arriving home, having had a wonderful time.

Then, over the weekend, we worked in the yard and did some gardening. Our hydrangeas are in full bloom, and I had to pick some of these beautiful blooms for the house.

After a day of hard work, George and I had a date night at the Country Club, where they were having a Cuban-themed party by the pool.

Then we made it out to Bradfordville Blues Club to see Victor Wainright and the Wild Roots.

The band was terrific, and it was an awesome night. I don't have video of the performances, but here's a clip of one of his performances. If he's in your area, I highly recommend seeing him live.

So far, June has been a blast for us. We hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!

It's June already?

May absolutely flew by for us, and I barely had the chance to take any pictures. Since my last post was from Cinco de Mayo, I'll give a quick recap of May's activities.

For Mother's Day weekend, Danny and I travelled to Jacksonville to celebrate with Mom Gilbert and Granny.

While it was a short visit, we had a great time. On Mother's Day, after George took me out for a special brunch at Coosh's Bayou Rouge, we spent the afternoon with Mom Creamer.

Another nice Mother's Day visit, followed by a light dinner at Newk's made me a very happy Mother.

The rest of the month was spent trying to finish up school, attending birthday parties, and other various activities. Danny and I managed to get a date night in at Jason's Deli,

and the kids each got the chance to go to the movies with friends.

May also included lots of swimming

and a bit of tennis for the Creamers,

and the last day, we celebrated the last day of school by having ice cream with friends.

It was a great month, and it went by too fast, but believe me - we savored every moment.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

To celebrate this day of Mexican independence, we had a Mexican fiesta for Sunday dinner. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures as I was too busy making the meal. However when I show you the pictures, please pretend that you see them as totally appetizing. Do it for me, please? Trust me, they are so good, my kids said we never have to go out for Mexican again!

Anyway, the recipes are below.

Easy Guacamole

 

Ingredients:

 

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Serrano chile, stem removed
2 ripe avocados, preferably the black-skinned Hass
A couple of tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 medium tomato, seeds and juice removed, then diced
A little crumbled Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco) for garnish

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Directions

Peel the garlic, finely chop the garlic and green chile (taking the seeds out of the chile if you don't want the heat), and scoop them into a bowl.

Chop the onion, and scoop into a separate bowl. Cover the onion with water. Set aside. One at a time, run a knife down through each avocado, starting at the top, until you reach the pit; continue cutting around the pit until you reach the point you started.
Twist the two halves of the avocado apart. Remove the pit and discard. Scoop the flesh into the bowl with the chiles. Mash coarsely with a potato masher.
Add the herbs, tomato and onion, stir to combine, then taste. Season with salt and lime juice. Scoop into a serving dish and garnish with cheese.

The next recipe, for roasted tomatillo salsa, is slightly more difficult, but you definitely don't have to be a chef to make it. Here it is.



Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

 

Ingredients:

 

3 to 4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed 

1 serrano chile, stemmed
3 large garlic cloves with peels left on
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped
1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt

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Directions

Roast the tomatillos, chile and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until the tomatillos are blotchy black and softening and turning from lime green to olive, about 5 minutes.  Flip the tomatillos, pepper and garlic over and roast the other side. 

Cool, then peel the garlic and transfer everything to a blender, including all the juice the tomatillos have exuded during roasting.

Add the cilantro and 1/4 cup water, then blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a serving dish. Cover the onion with cold water, then strain to remove excess moisture.  Stir into the salsa and season with salt.

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A new Creamer breakfast favorite

This morning, I tried a twist on the traditional monkey bread recipe. The Pioneer Woman posted a new recipe for Orange Vanilla Monkey Bread at this link, and I'll never go back. This was absolutely amazing - so amazing that I didn't get a picture of it until after we were finished.

Try it, and you'll love it too.

Danny's Latest Obsession

Lately, Danny has been obsessed (OK, all of us have) with watching Duck Dynasty and the adventures of the Robertson family. He's been so obsessed about it that we had to find a Duck Commander duck call for him.

He has carried it since we bought it, and he loves trying out the different calls and sounds. Bonus - it is orange (Danny's favorite color), and it has DC (for Duck Commander) imprinted on it, and Danny likes to believe the DC stands for Daniel Creamer and it was meant for him. Whatever makes him happy, I say.

Megan loves the show too, and her favorite character is Uncle Si. In fact, she quotes the following line perfectly:
"I'm the master of distractions. A couple of hand gestures and - Bam! - I'll pull the underwear clean off your butt!"
My kids have the best sense of humor.