This Perfectly Imperfect Life

I originally shared the following post in 2012 (click here ) and because I'm making it today and love it so much, I wanted to share it again with you now: I originally posted this recipe in 2009 (click here for that post). I still have no precise measurements - it's all a matter of what and how much you like any one thing!  (I love cooking this way and that's why my baking doesn't always turn out so well LOL!)  Today I added chopped zukes, fresh corn from the cob and diced chicken to what's listed below.  You can also use a pre-bottled red wine vinaigrette dressing instead of the one listed below as well. Don't like the veggies I've used? Switch them for the ones you do!  Or use whatever you have on hand .  There's so much you can do with a pasta salad to make it a great, healthy meal for a hot day. A big change I've made to the original recipe is to keep the dressing separate from the pasta salad and toss it with individual bowls vs with

New Jersey summers are infamous for many reasons like the shore and tomatoes, but unless you live here, you may not know the biggest one. To say that it is stifling outside is the understatement of the summer so far. The humidity is shocking and suffocating. Disgusting. Stunning. Oppressive. Sickening. Breath taking. And not in a good way.  I gasped loudly when I walked out into it this morning and got assaulted by air thick enough to bite it's so dense with moisture. Thank goodness for small favors and it's not hot too.  Here on the bayshore at the Portable Homestead, and up at the lake, everything is damp to the touch or sticky. Bed linens and curtains have to be washed more frequently now or they'll smell sour, like sweat. Powdery mildew (mold) will soon be sprouting up on anything that's made of real wood or leather, an unwelcome annual ritual we've learned to live with because we can't keep it from happening, no matter what we've trie

What a fantastic Independence Day so far!  Cool, mostly cloudy, some rain most of the day. Now it's turned into the perfect Summer late afternoon! Clear, sunny, not a stitch of humidity to be had and a refreshing on-shore breeze. Did I mention the Quiet?! Quiet days here at the Portable Homestead are rare and downright lovely, and the weather has only enhanced the peacefulness of the day, so we don't mind one bit that it hasn't been not hot and sunny on this 4th of July. A lazy morning spent sleeping in, then venturing into town for breakfast just ahead of the shore crowds. More lazing around once we returned home, watching tv, watering and tidying up in the garden, even a load or two of laundry, then hot dogs on the grill with fresh tomato onion cuke salad for lunch. Reading Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal, set around Independence Day. So glad Hubbs has been able to relax today after a busy day off yesterday! He doesn't get too much relaxing

Happy July everyone! Things have slowed down quite a bit here in the Portable Homestead garden.  The roses have finished their first round of blooms, and they're taking their time getting to a second. But the hostas, annuals and day lillies have taken over with theirs.  Slowly and surely the 'from seed' containers are beginning to bloom: Zinnias, marigolds, tomatoes, hyacinth bean climber, nasturtiums.  And the coneflowers are starting to bloom again in the raised bed.  The aphids have been formidable foes, as always, which means daily garden walks are taking longer than usual what with hosing them off the plants or spraying them with soapy water.  I hope to troll a few garden centers during this holiday weekend!  Rugosa and hostas are at the top of my list.  How are things growing where you are?  What's at the top of your gardening wish-list at this time of year! (For the week ending 7/2/15)