Making Tuesday Tasty-Grilled Asparagus w/Lemon and Garlic

My all time favorite vegetable, which is now in season, is asparagus. I know some people shudder at the thought of asparagus and I can only say to that, you don't know what you're missing! A major part in a great asparagus eating experience is, the right preparation. I personally like to toss mine in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic and roast until tender and a little crispy. I could and have polished off a bundle myself with that combination.

Here's a Paula Deen recipe that has a good take on bringing out the flavors of the asparagus! I would probably do without the lemon zest and go with a good squirt of lemon juice. If you like a stronger lemon flavor, lemon zest all the way!

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Trim asparagus. In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, zest and paprika and stir with a fork. Lay asparagus side by side and pierce on 2 wooden skewers to form a raft. Place rafts on the grill and brush with oil mixture. Cook to desired tenderness and season with salt and pepper.

*photo courtesy of Foodnetwork.com*

Dare To Design Contest-Shabby Apple

OK, I'm not entering this contest but, as a huge fan of shows like Project Runway, I wanted to put this out there for other people to get a chance!

Shabby Apple is offering an AMAZING contest in which 15 top designers will be chosen and featured on their website. Voters will then have a chance to decide what their favorite is.

This was taken from email I received:

Requirements:

Design a dress. (You do not need to be a professional designer.)

Put a sketch, computer drawing or photograph of your design on your personal blog with the words "Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses". The words, "Shabby Apple Dresses" should be a

link to www.shabbyapple.com. You must provide a link in your post to http://www.shabbyapple.com/.

Posts without this caption will not be considered.

Post should include ideas of fabric and colors and design inspiration.

Email daretodesign@shabbyapple.com with the DIRECT link to the posting of the design on your blog.

Dress must adhere to Shabby Apple design standards. Dresses must have sleeves, hemline to the knee, no cleavage.

Dress should be appropriate for Spring season.

If your dress is chosen, you are responsible for getting a sample and pattern made. Not to worry, if you are not a seamstress, Shabby Apple will provide you contact info for pattern makers and sample making.

Parameters:

Contest begins September 10, 2009.

Contestants must submit their entries by November 3, 2009 by 11:59 p.m.EST.

The top 15 entries will be posted on the Shabby Apple blog by November 10, 2009.

Blog readers will vote on their favorite entry. The contestant whose design receives the most votes by November 24, 2009 will win. Winner will be announced on the Shabby Apple blog by December 10, 2009.

Winner Receives:

Winner's design will be featured as part of the Shabby Apple spring collection.

Winner will receive a 3% royalty on every dress sold of his or her design.

Pediped shoes-Review

I'm like most Mother's, I love little kids shoes. I love baby shoes, boys shoes, girls shoes, sandals, etc. Things always seem to be much cuter in small versions. I received a darling pair of Pediped shoes named, Abigail. They're a pale shade of pink with a medium pink blossom sewn right onto the top. The fact that they are a Mary Jane makes them even better in my eyes. I adore Mary Janes!

The Abigail is part of Pediped's collection of FLEX footwear. They are created for toddler feet and ultra flexible. The FLEX shoes allow a young child to move, jump, and run like they are running on bare feet. As a mom, I really like the inserts for the shoes, they are very soft and supportive, I seriously need to find an adult version of these now. They even give you an insert you can put in the shoes if a child is a half size too small, for instance. I like that the soles of the shoes coordinate with the shoe color. I generally don't care for a light pink shoe with a bold, black sole on it.

The Pediped Originals are also great shoes. They are made with infants to young toddlers in mind. The Originals are made with a soft leather sole to move and bend with a new crawler and walker in mind. They are soft and move with the foot which allows for proper development while providing support.

The selection has been fabulous too. I had a chance to browse through the shoes today to see the choices and they really do have an amazing selection of Spring and Summer shoes. They have a wide variety of colors for girls especially,(you know they get all the good stuff!) and I was even surprised to see how many boy options were available. Pinks, blues, greens, metallic, blossoms, dots, eek! even cupcakes(limited edition). The boys have camo, dress shoes, tennis shoes, sandals and, boots. I'm sure you'll find something you'll love on there.

I give these shoes a thumbs up! They are fashionable, flexible, safe for developing feet and ADORABLE.