FloridaNative

about me

My name is Kitty, and I'm a born and bred native Floridian, wife to Greg and mother of two children (Steven 22 and Rachel 9 years old) and 3 fur-babies, Apache our Aussie, and MiaMariaBonita and Berger, our 2 cats. I love to sit out on the patio in the morning and have my coffee and watch the day wake up. This photo was taken during our 2007 vacation to Boca Grande, on Gasparilla Island, west coast of FL - beautiful place.

Most of the recipes I've posted are my mom's or mine, with some from my favorite cookbooks or friends. The ones that say "Mimi" in the title - those are from my mom, and I have more to go through and post. My mom (we call her Mimi cause my kids do) cooked alot of different things in our house, like Maryland Crab Cakes, Steamed Potatoes, and Black-Eyed Peas & Hog Jowl! Mimi taught me alot about cooking, and alot about life — the rest I've learned from trial and error.

We became an "organic" family in May 2007, so we try to stay as close to 100% organic as possible. We shop at Whole Foods and Publix for their organic produce and free range meats, and also local farmers markets where we can find them. We have a backyard garden too!I want to learn more about canning so I can make our abundance go further without any waste, but no time for new projects right now...maybe next year.

OOPS!! Looks like half my AM page has a tendency to disappear — I'll keep an eye on this issue...it's happened twice now...not sure why...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY PERSONAL INTERESTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love the Lord, church and having church luncheons once a month! I enjoy spending time with my family around the house, going to the beach, running, kickboxing, gardening, quilting, reading, cross-stitch, golf, and cooking. We try to do things together as a family, so that leaves lots of opportunities for new adventures, especially in the kitchen. I really enjoy Zaar for that reason, finding new recipes and trying new things together is fun for all of us.

I enjoy collecting things - have to be careful with this or I end up with too much! I collect pewter, hobnail milkglass items, shot glasses from around the world, and tealight candle "houses". I also love teddy bears and stuffed cats, and I have a special place in my heart for frogs - green tree frogs are my favorite. I love all things Celtic as I am half-Irish and DH is Irish/Scots. My favorite colors are cobalt blue, seafoam green and aqua - colors of the ocean. It's funny though, because nothing in my house are those colors, except some small treasures I have collected over the years.

I have a "servants heart", and I like to make large meals for family and friends and just enjoy everybody while they enjoy the food. I like to make special treats and give them as gifts to friends and others who have blessed me with their attitude or small favors. I really enjoy giving to others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WORDS OF WISDOM that make me smile:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Because NICE matters"

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way" ~ Native American saying

"Elegance does not consist of putting on a new dress" - Coco Chanel.

"Don't compromise yourself; you are all you got" ~ Janis Joplin

"Sometimes you have to fight a battle more than once to win it" ~ Margaret Thatcher

"It does not require many words to speak the truth" ~ Chief Joseph,Nez Percéé Indian chief

"Nature doesn't adjust to your skill level" ~ Unknown

"You''ll never regret the angry words you do not speak" ~ Unknown

~~~~~AN IRISH PRAYER~~~~~
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SWAPS:
I have participated in a couple of swaps, and Fall PAC 2008. I enjoy getting to know other members of the Zaar community through these activities, plus they're lots of fun.

Favorite Foods:

Comfort food is my favorite and here's a list of those things I like best: French onion soup, chicory coffee with cream (cafe au lait), chai tea lattes (YUM), hot tea with honey, peanut butter pie, red beans and rice, chili with cheese, fresh baked bread, really GOOD soups, shortbread cookies, bar-b-qued ribs, potato salad, mac & cheese, Italian pasta dishes with fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with delicious tomato sauce, fresh salsa with blue corn tortilla chips, chocolate milk, and after a long day - single malt scotch. Add to this one of my new favorites, Buttermilk Pie.

BTW — my favorite food to HATE is mushrooms, can't stomach the smell of them cooking or the texture when I eat them. Even if they're diced fine, I can tell if they're "in there"... ... they totally ruin a dish for me...poor DH, he loves them.

http://