{Pre}Summer Bounty

I know some of you are probably bored to tears with my posts about Disney, but since it's my new happy place, I will eventually finish up my chronicles of the *Magic*. In the meantime though, how about some pretty {pre}summer goodies. With the 80°+ weather we've been having, it's hard to believe it's not even summer yet!

I can't take the credit for growing them. That goes to my wonderful grandmother. She said these are supposed to be the Ever-Bearing variety, but since she's let too many runners come from the mother plants, they are now more like Bear-Whenever-They-Want variety. And what would yummy pictures be with yummy recipes?!

Easy Strawberry Shortcake - make these into cupcakes for individual servings, then split, & fill!

Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Strawberry and Feta Salad

Although, sometimes I think simplest is best....dipped in dark bittersweet chocolate or mixed with sugar and drizzled with heavy cream.

And because I am proud of this little patch....

...I can't believe I grew my own lettuce! From seeds! (*Insert happy dance here*) I am harvesting mixed leafy greens, arugula and some romaine. And because I succession planted (planted more of the same but several weeks apart), I will be harvesting my own salads for weeks to come!

Remembering the Magic - Part IV

Many mornings it was slow-going to get to the breakfast table because of all the lush scenery at our resort! I think this last year of homeschooling and cultivating more of an appreciation of nature is to blame, not that I'm complaining! Sienna became an expert gecko spotter and managing to detect about half a dozen of these little fellas throughout our stay. Here is some of what we would see on our way to breakfast....

:: Sienna especially loved these lily pads and had to stop and look at them each time we passed by. ::

:: And now on to the food - Breakfast - Chocolate Croissant (yum). Can you ever go wrong with a Chocolate Croissant? ::

:: Sienna wanted in on the breakfast picture taking. Here is her meal & her stylish thrift store Jasmine sun-glasses. ::

:: Sienna was always excited to see this Mary PoppLins (yes, she says it with an "L") Balloon, which hovers over the Marketplace area at Downtown Disney. She made sure I got a picture of it. ::

:: Our second (did you guess it?) visit to Wolfgang Puck Express. ::

:: Truth be told, we weren't coming for the food (which happens to be delish); we were coming for the Tropical Iced Tea (yum, yum)! ::

:: Wood-fired pepperoni pizza for the girls ::

:: Greek Salad (0) - it wasn't bad, but it was "light" on flavor. ::

:: Wood-fired BBQ Chicken pizza (yum) ::

:: Is this as funny to you as it is to me? ::

:: We went for many late-afternoon swims.  Very refreshing after lots of hours of walking in the heat.::

:: My view of the pool ::

:: Two of the Seven Dwarfs: Grumpy & Happy ::

:: Looks like baby poop food, but it's really sun-dried tomato and black olive hummus with pita bread (both 0) ::

:: from top - Mealie Bread (yum), Fufu (yum), Rib Roast w/Spicy African Mustard (yum), Durbun marinated chicken (0), Greelie's Rice (0) ::

:: Seafood Gumbo (yum), Watercress salad (yum), Watermelon Rind Salad (this tasted of spicy ginger!) (yum, yum) - Not pictured: House Juice (yum) ::

:: And for the grand finale - I tried one of each dessert. This was the best mini-dessert selection I had seen in Disney. Instead of doing yum/0/yuck, I rated them each on a 10 point scale - From top: Zebra Dome (adults only) (8, very sweet), Caramel Cheesecake (9.5, would've been a 10 if it were served colder), Passion Fruit Panna Cotta (10), Peanut Butter Mousse Crunch (9.5, if that ganache on top were of a more similar consistency, it would've been a 10), Coffee Tartlet (9.5, needed just a little more coffee flavor), Chocolate Cinnamon Mousse (8) ::

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Disney. Sad, I know. Stay tuned for a very exciting breakfast!