Yep, it's homework time again, but at least I have this nice spot in my own yard in which to get the reading done. You can't see the top of the banana tree that's blocked out by the umbrella, but it's giant. I'd estimate that it's ten-feet tall with four-foot leaves. We planted them last year and this year the two plants sprouted three more plants each. I love to watch the big leaves swaying in the breeze from the view at the dining room table.


This photo does not do this dish justice. I grilled the pork chops after seasoning them with salt & pepper and rubbing them with a raw garlic clove and olive oil. I made the ricotta gnocchi from a recipe on Gourmet.com. The gnocchi are tossed in a brown butter sauce that's cooked with a sprig of rosemary and then in grated Parmesan cheese. To reheat the leftovers, I'll make another batch of brown butter and retoss the gnocchi in it.


This is Emeril's chicken marsala recipe from the Food Network's website. I served it over fettucine. It was good, but I'm stuck on Villa Tronco's recipe, so I may need to sweet talk them into passing it along.

Reading is done for the day, and just in time to make up a batch of margaritas with fresh lime juice, simple syrup, triple sec or Cointreau, and tequila for cocktail hour. With the abundance of volunteer Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes in our yard, I'll mix up some salsa to go along with them. Cheers!