People collect different things. For instance, my purple friend Melinda of https://purpleslobinrecovery.wordpress.com collects good feelings – the best sort of collection imaginable! Lately, this humble blog of mine seemed to be collecting awards.
This is a bunch that has accumulated in three months. I am totally overwhelmed, greatly honored, and most sincerely thankful to the following amazing bloggers:
- https://spoonfulospice.wordpress.com
- https://gypsybus28.com
- https://daringtojess.wordpress.com
- https://deweyhop.wordpress.com
- https://jirahmerizz.wordpress.com/
- https://neetuskitchen.wordpress.com
- https://inspiresn.wordpress.com
- https://lithuanianintheusa.com
- https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com
- https://cookandenjoyrecipes.wordpress.com
- https://throughmyrosetingedglasses.wordpress.com
- https://jewishthoughtsblog.wordpress.com
Huge credit also goes to the fantastic Okoto Enigma, the creator of Mystery Blogger Award, the inimitable Esme The Recipe Hunter who conceived of the Blog-aholic Award, and the adorable David who came up with the 2016/2017 tag. To all of you, Beautiful People, who found it in your hearts to honor me, and to almost 1200 of my followers, a million of scarlet roses, delivered by The First Lady of Russian Song (lyrics in English appear when you click on SHOW MORE).
Each of those awards requires displaying an award logo (did that!), answering an endless list of questions or disclosing personal facts, and nominating other bloggers. As neither you, Beautiful People, nor I, have the time and patience for extra-long posts, I am picking and choosing the Q & A part:
- Would you rather it was always winter, or always summer? On a gloomy December day 35 years ago, I shoveled snow off my car, scraped ice off the windshield, and started driving south. As I progressed, I was peeling layers of warm clothing off, like an onion. When I saw the first palm trees and orange groves, I knew I was doing the right thing. And when I saw the ocean, I realized that I have reached my destination, the place of eternal summer – South Florida.
- Global event that marked 2016 for you? Presidential election, of course!
- Do you prefer emails or telephone calls? E-mails for me, please! I am very visual.
- Three facts about me? I dislike ZOO’s and circus shows with animals in captivity – animals should be free in their natural habitat; I got to swim with dolphins in the bay twice (hoping for more!); I dance flamenco (I might have mentioned this one before – don’t remember).
- What is your first thought when you wake up in the morning? Thank the A-mighty that I’ve lived to see another day.
- What is your comfort food? Chocolate! Need you ask? One more time, for the record:
My Own Rules of Dessert.
Rule #1. It’s not dessert if it’s not chocolate.
Rule #2. The more chocolate, the better.
- This will be the last one, and I’ll save it until I am done with the nominations. In my own funky way, I suggest that my nominees select the award / awards they like – there are nine to choose from. I further suggest that they tell three to seven interesting or unusual things about themselves and nominate any number of bloggers they wish. Of course, they should display the award logo (or two, or three, or all nine) on their sites, and it would be nice if they mention me. And certainly, they don’t have to do any of this if they prefer not to participate in awards.
I nominate the following great bloggers:
- https://manthaskitchen.blog/
- https://favoriterecipesblog.wordpress.com/
- https://stefangourmet.com/
- https://preethicuisine.com/
- https://skintcooking.com/
- https://recipereminiscing.wordpress.com/
- https://sizzlesnstrings.wordpress.com/
Most certainly, there are many other terrific bloggers out there whose work I follow and whose posts I enjoy reading, so please consider yourself nominated, and, if you are so inclined, grab yourself an award or two, and start writing!
Returning to Question #7, my most favorite place in the world (besides Jerusalem, of course) is Italy, bella Italia. I am infatuated with everything Italian, from art, architecture, and design, to opera – ah! bel canto! – to food. The Tricolore – Italian flag – represents hope, faith, and charity, the universal values of humanity.
I got this gorgeous bunch of radishes – don’t they look just like a million of scarlet roses? They are red on the outside and white inside, so we have a good beginning. We slice them into very thin circles. Then we have a bunch of scallions, green with white tips, and we dice them. To add some more hope to the world, there is a goodly bunch of fresh fragrant dill, to be chopped and tossed with sliced radishes and diced scallions. Add salt and pepper to taste, and you are ready to serve.
This has always been my favorite summer salad, served with a dollop of sour cream or Tofutti Sour Supreme. The freshness, the smell, the crunch, and the colors will liven up your table and remind you of Italy.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 bunch or radishes (about 12 – 15)
- 1 bunch of scallions (about 6 – 8)
- Large handful of fresh dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sour cream or substitute to garnish
PROCEDURE
- Slice radishes paper thin. Dice scallions. Chop dill. Mix, toss with salt and pepper.
- Serve chilled, garnished with sour cream or substitute.
Enjoy!
Wonderful post! Great answers, well deserved awards, I like Italian food too and what lovely radishes! 😺💕xxx
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Thank you so much, Samantha, I am so glad you like it!
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Wow hearty congratulations, keep it going.
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Thank you so much, dear Kamal!
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Welcome so much
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Well done, Dolly!
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Thank you so much!
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Congratulations on your many awards – much deserved. Also for coming up with such a clever way to handle the time consuming requirements rather than saying, “thank you but I don’t have time to accept “- which I have been forced to do, lacking the time to add ONE more item to an over-packed agenda where I am continually behind already!
Loved your answers to the questions. I could have predicted 1, 2, and 6, and most of the others were no real surprise as I read. I did NOT expect to learn that you dance flamenco or of your fondness for Italy.
Before I decided to go zero gluten, pasta was my favorite food, but GF pasta is still odd tasting to me, so I rarely indulge at all anymore. This salad, however, is another matter entirely. I’m sure both my taste buds and the rest of my body would absolutely love that little reminder of Italy.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
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Thank you so much for your lovely comment! It’s funny how Italian food is perceived as pasta and pizza. Both are mainly Southern Italian, while Northern Italian foods are totally different, with predominantly white sauces, spinach, fish or veal, white beans, and herbs. I consider Florence my second home, and I am crazy about everything Florentine / Tuscan. I know every corner there, but I can still walk the streets forever. Milan is next, but only because of the opera. Well, the boutiques too, to be truthful…
I dance not only flamenco, but also Gypsy dances. However, on South Beach there is a profusion of flamenco guitarists; almost every restaurant has one playing. So we go for a walk, or sometimes for a drink, and if I like what I hear, I get up and dance.
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What a well-traveled life you’ve led! Some day I hope t take that walk with you and see you dance for myself.
xx,
mgh
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You do realize, I hope, that I spent the first 27 years of my life in a great big prison known as the Soviet Union, where only the communists and the privileged were allowed to travel abroad. Obviously, when I finally got out, I was like a kid in a candy store: go everywhere, see everything! I’ve only traveled in Europe, though (and Israel, of course), but there was a period of my life when I went there almost every year for 2 – 3 weeks, i.e. my entire winter break. And wherever I went, I spent a large chunk of time in the North of Italy. Then we started the school, and the word VACATION disappeared from my vocabulary. Then my father needed me, so I couldn’t go anywhere but on short sailing trips to the Keys and back. We’ll see how it goes now…
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I cannot imagine growing up in a country where you were not allowed outside its borders unless you escaped. I hope I do not have to experience anything remotely similar in America at this end of my life either!
I strongly relate to starting a school and living without breaks of any significance, actually. And I’m sure your choice to be there for your father added a filter to those years that did not make them seem as confining as your childhood.
Travel of any kind expands and changes ones view of the world. I have gotten to experience much of America and just a bit of Canada, but I always hoped to spend a year or so in Europe. Perhaps still, G-D willing!
xx,
mgh
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What many people do not realize is soviet citizens were not allowed to travel not only abroad, but also within the country, unless they had documents proving that the trip was work-related or had a vacation voucher. Papers were routinely checked on the planes, trains, and buses, and private cars (as few of them as there were), would be stopped and searched at random, and papers checked. Having a motorcycle allowed me a relative freedom of movement inside the country, and having a reporter ID provided access to places not many people heard about. I have traveled quite a bit in the U.S. and part of Canad by car, and I am very happy I did., but I do miss Italy. Believe me, Florida Grand Opera, with all due respect, is no La Scala!
Caring for my father was never a choice; this is what you do for your elderly ailing parent, and nothing else matters. I would gladly give up many more years of my personal pleasures if I could have him with me!
Europe seems to be a very expensive proposition now – not at all the way it used to be. Perhaps by the time you are in a position to go, it would be more welcoming financially.
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My late colleague Kate’s mother (Barbara Kelly) hosted the Olympic skating stars who defected from Russia many years ago whenever the Protopopovs were in Lake Placid to train. (Barb was a skater as well and active in that community).
MANY interesting stories about Russian travel limitations – third hand.
xx,
mgh
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Whenever we are introduced to a different culture or social structure, it sounds totally fascinating to us, especially if it is something completely alien to everything we considered normal human existence. Protopopovs were phenomenal (especially Lyudmila) – I loved them! That woman was lucky to have hosted them.
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Many times. Every time they came to Lake Placid – which was where they trained. They became very good friends.
Apparently Lyudmila was a VERY strong-willed woman. When her husband had his stroke, she forced him up and back on the ice until he could skate again.
xx,
mgh
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Yes, I’ve heard that about her. Strong character helps to achieve excellence – I will never forger their Cumparsita and their Pasadoble!
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Barbara got to watch them rehearse!
xx,
mgh
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Do you see me turning green with envy?
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I would have loved to have been there as well. Kate & I got to watch the reigning Ice Dancing pair rehearse on a visit to her mother’s – and that was an incredible experience for me.
They were absolutely charming, both of them, and I can almost see them dancing in my mind, even though neigher of their names will pop in for the life of me.
The P’s were not in residence at the time, so I never got to meet them. But Kate and I shared the rooms they occupied when they were. As I type, I feel kind of like a tourist retelling the time they stayed in the “George Washington Slept Here” room. lol
xx,
mgh
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I know the feeling! 🙂
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Congrats on all those awards!!! 💗
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Thank you so much, dear Jirah!
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Congratulations on so many awards, I’m glad you chose to do mine! I agree, the more chocolate, the better 😉
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Thank you so much, dear Jess, and thank you again for nominating me!
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It was great to read, thank you for doing it!
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My pleasure! 🙂
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Oh my dear friend – what an awesome and lovely surprise to receive first thing in the morning. I am honored, humbled and flattered by you nominating my blog for an award. You’re a true mensch and I am happy to call you my friend. ♥
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I am honored and proud to have earned your friendship! You are simply the best! 🙂
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♥ you funky cat, 0///0 0///0 “blush” blush”
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🙂
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Fantastic news and many many congratulations Dolly!
Thank you for the radishes – also love them sliced on a piece of rye bread and butter.
Do you speak Italian as well?
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Great to hear from you, Sasha, and thank you! Remember the “real” rye bread? I’ve tried to make it, but it resembles the old joke about a guy who worked at a sewing machine plant in Tula. He kept stealing parts and bringing them home, hoping to assemble a sewing machine for his wife, but no matter how hard he tried, he always came up with a machine gun. My rye bread is usable, but it’s not “it”!
I can ask and understand street directions, read menus, and order my way in a restaurant in Italian – that’s the extent of it!
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It’s better than mine! Would love to learn Italian. May be one day. great joke about the gun 🙂
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You mean you didn’t know it?
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No, I don’t! Would you be my tutor?
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In old Odessa jokes?
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Congratulations Dolly on all the awards you earned, very well deserved ! Keep up the great work! Looking forward to continue reading many more lovely posts !
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Thank you so much, dear Nisha, and thank you for a lovely comment!
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I’m with you on the perpetual summer and the chocolate. There’s nothing better than some good chocolate.
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Right on, and the more chocolate, the better!
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Congratulations. You are very deserving of these awards.
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Thank you so much, dear Ali!
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Wow, Dolly!! Once again I’m blessed by being mentioned on your blog!!
Madelyn alerted me to it!
You are one champion cooking cat, alright!!
I’m thrilled to be your friend, and once again, thanks for the shout out!
Congrats, and well deserved on all the awards! I loved the way you handled them, in your own inimitable way, of course!
Melinda ❤
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Thank you so much, dear purple person!
Much love, and stay out of the rain!
Dolly
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You’re very welcome, dear feline person!
<3, I avoid it as much as I'm sure you do! 😉
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All I can say is Meow!
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😀
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Oh yeah, the radishes!! Finally a recipe for me! Cut, toss and serve, even I can handle that!
Viva Italia!
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Yay! Buon appetito!
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😀
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🙂
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Many congratulations on all your awards! Well deserved :):)
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Thank you so much for your kind comment, dear Margaret!
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You are most welcome 🙂
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🙂
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you for reblogging.
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Hearty congratulations! You are one of the famost food-bloggers, providing not only recipes for food, providing recipes for meals, with great images. I read the difference at whitneyibeblog, where a father tought his daughter the important difference. Have a nice weekend. 😉 Michael
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Thank you so much, Michael, although I really do not consider myself all that great! Have a nice weekend as well.
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Thank you very much. Best wishes for the sunday and the week ahead! 😉
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Same to you!
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Thx. 😉
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Congratulations on the awards, woohoo!! And you say you like chocolate – me too 🙂 I’ll share!
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Thank you so much, dear Christy! Let’s have some chocolate!
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Have a Beautiful Week…🌷
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Thank you, you too! 🙂
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I would love to go to Ireland, Jerusalem and Israel.
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Jerusalem IS the capital of Israel, whether Trump moves the embassy there or not. Thank you for your kind comment!
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No comment on Trump even though I’m Republican.
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Exactly! We are in the same boat, dear!
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Kinda sad isn’t it or is it?
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What can you do? “Dat’s life!” – as she sings in the old musical.
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Your right. Life doesn’t play fair either.
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Faith in His wisdom helps – eventually He’ll put everything aright!
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YES HE WILL!!
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I never thought to eat a radish salad until your post. of course, all I had in the house at the time were a bunch of radishes, arugula and sweet onions , so I improvised . Guess what? I enjoyed it ! Thank you!
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You are very welcome, dear Mel! Radishes are versatile and good in many salads – I am glad you enjoyed yours!
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Congratulations on al the well deserved awards! Awesome!!!
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Thank you so much, dear Tamara!
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You’re welcome 😊
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I am an Italian National, born in South Africa and I must say, it’s difficult to choose between the two countries – food and beautiful breathtaking scenery – but I felt that I came home when I visited Italy, Umbria where my family still lives and the weather was fantastically warm, especially when compared to Lancashire, UK where we live for most of the year. Thanks for the radish salad recipe and all the best with the blogger awards!
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Thank you so much, dear Maretha! I’ve been to Umbria and loved it.
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I’m so glad to hear you’ve been to Umbria. I love the little citadels up on the hills with their narrow streets – we almost got stuck in Todi and later Orvietto streets – my family’s towns. Did you manage to visit any wine farms or cheese makers or olive farms? I didn’t get to any olive orchards. I was looking to take a picture of an old gnarled olive tree, but not this time.
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A vineyard in Orvietto, which gave me a passion for Orvietto wine. It was years ago, so I don’t remember the name of the vineyard, but everything was so lovely, like everything in Italy!
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This is just unbelievable! My father grew up in ORVIETTO and lived in a tiny nearby farming village called Scoppietto, high up on a hill. I love the views from there across the nearby lake. 🤗And the grapes, olives and wines are something special. The world is often a very small place and I love the wine in nearby Corbara as well. Thanks for your lovely comment. X
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My pleasure, dear, it was a lovely memory!
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Congratulations on the awards! You are more than deserving. I’ve loved your blog since I read my first post here. You and I are alike on the Italian love affair. Even at my age I want to learn Italian. The sound of Italian conversation is like music. And the simple salad is really a perfect summer dish! It’s cool, easy to create, yet it would have such a depth of flavor! Tomorrow I’m planting radishes!
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Thank you! It’s mutual – I love your blog, no matter what you write about. I envy you the planting part; can’t plant or grow anything in a condo.
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Thank you, Dolly! That means a lot to me! Not growing things would be so hard! Could you grow herbs on a windowsill? Do you even want to? LOL I can’t imagine not having a garden but the day may come.
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First of all, anything on a windowsill falls victim to cats. Secondly, we are facing north, which is prized in Florida, but even simple plants hardly survive here. Years ago, in my previous condo, I had a Florida room where I grew herbs, cherry tomatoes, and cherry peppers. I loved it!
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Ah. I understand. Our living room and bedrooms face north. The only thing I could grow in there would be moss and dust bunnies.
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LOL Cat hair, too…
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In our case it’s dog hair. And Remy contributes more than he should!
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Are you sure he knows what he “should”?
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Excellent point! I’ve tried to explain it to him but he instantly reminds me of how much I shed!
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He is right – fair is fair!
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Congratulations to you! Great post and lovely radishes.
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Thank you so much for your kind words, dear Rasma!
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A terrific post! You most certainly deserve the awards. I never knew that about the Italian flag. You cannot grow up in NYC without acquiring a taste for Italian food. ❤
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Thank you so much, dear Anna, I am so glad you like it! You’re so right about NYC and Italian food, even though I didn’t grow up there.
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What a fabulous post! I love radishes! Amazing deserved awards! I planted what is called a black radish this year. It will be interesting to see how they taste!
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Thank you so much! Black radishes are much sharper than these ones, and also much sharper than daekon or muli radishes, so we usually grated or diced them, dressed them with olive oil and a pinch of salt, and let them soak for at least 10 – 15 minutes.
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Sounds fabulous. I will give it a try when they are ready to pick. TY for the tip 🙂
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My pleasure – enjoy!
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🙂
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Reblogged this on koolkosherkitchen and commented:
These are year-old awards, Beautiful People, so don’t congratulating me all over again! The only reason I am repeating this post is that, according to lovely Lisa of https://lisaseverydaylife.com/2018/06/12/lets-celebrate-red-roses-day, today is a National Red Roses Day. As I love red roses – the real ones, with thorns! – and I adore the song embedded in this post, I thought I’d share it with you again. Enjoy!
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Thank you so much for pingback!
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Serendipidy! I have radishes and I have scallions (Spring Onions, if you please 😉 ) and all I need find is dill. That should be easy peasy and that is supper sorted …..
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Great! And dill is essential to make it taste like Spring!
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Oh yes indeed I am certain!
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😻
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Gotta love your sense of humor, and the Roses were very pretty to. I love Red Roses (my favorite flower) and I love Yellow Roses next. My Wife Kathy ‘s favorite flower is the bright Yellow Sun Flower. I am going to reblog this one for you.
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Thank you so much, Ted, and best regards to your wife! In Russia, yellow roses are considered symbolic of sadness and are given together with farewells. You might think me crazier than I am, and I am crazy enough as it is, but when I lick red roses, I taste raspberries. Go figure!
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Reblogged this on Truth Troubles.
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Thank you so much for reblogging, dear friend!
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