Mediterranean Pizza

When my honey and I were visiting grandchildren in Aurora, Colorado, they brought home pizza from a chain called Papa Murphy's. What makes this pizza chain unique is that they do not bake the pizza, they just prepare it for you to take home and bake completely there. One of the unbaked pies they brought home was something called a Mediterranean Pizza. I'm a pizza purist and I'm not into weird pizza pies with pineapple or ham or kiwi fruit. All I heard was spinach and thought, here we go, another strange pie.  As the pie was baking it smelled exactly like the pies we would get in Vincenza, Italy so I was thinking this may not  be so bad after all. When they took it out of the oven I saw it was filled with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese and garlic and oil on a crisp crust.  I was in heaven. 

 We don't have Papa Murphy's here in Atlanta so I had to replicate it. 

Ingredients:

1. Pillsbury's refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
2. Jar of sun dried tomatoes...sun dried  Brushetta works well too
3. Container of Feta cheese
4. crushed garlic
5. fresh baby spinach
6. olive oil
7. Mrs. Dash Italian seasonings (mostly greens)
8. shredded Mozzarella
9. some breadcrumbs or corn meal

PREHEAT Oven to 375 degrees

Using a cookie sheet or a large round pizza pan, sprinkle breadcrumbs or corn meal in the pan and then lay the pizza crust in the pan.   Brush dough with olive oil and then smear the crushed garlic all over the dough.

Using entire jar of sun dried tomatoes, cover the dough and then sprinkle with Mrs. Dash Italian seasonings.

The smell of the sun dried tomatoes and the garlic is heavenly.

Now place fresh spinach on the pie. 

Cover pie with the feta cheese and sprinkle a little bit of the shredded mozzarella (less then 1/2 cup).  Now bake for about 15 minutes. 

This pizza is so good and is light and easy to make.  About 180 calories per slice (6" by 6").   You can add meat like chicken or sweet sausage but it's really good without and it keeps the fat calories down without it. I made this for my honey as he watched both playoff games and we have enough left over for another meal tomorrow.    I hope you enjoy the recipe.  Sea Witch

Easy Come, Easy Go

A lovely three day weekend found me local junkin and found some interesting items.  This left me with bringing "in" items and as I worked displays, they moved "out" just as fast.  It was a chilly weekend here in Atlanta and Sunday afternoon found the Queen of Hearts mobbed with shoppers.  What would normally take me a few hours to set up displays and fluff up my booths, took twice that amount of time as I worked around customers.  No complaints from me though, every time I turned around a piece moved out of my booth.

Brought in this sturdy and beachy blue distressed oak parlour table to replace an end table that sold.  I had just finished setting this display up when a lovely woman named Sue fell in love with it.  So in the booth for 20 minutes and out just as fast.

I would have hung this sign in my sons bedroom if they were still little ones.  It is huge, nearly 4 feet in length and the palest shade of french blue with incised lettering.  I had just snapped this photo when a customer snagged it and took it to check out. 

How sweet is this pretty little bluebird soft paste creamer.  The bluebird was a highly popular theme in the 1900s through the 1920s.  Yup, this sweetie flew the coop shortly after bringing it in.

Got the "Sassytrash" itch and couldn't resist this sweet little wire birdcage.  So many possibilities.

Remember this birdbath with feeder I found a few weeks back?  Well, I cleaned it up and gave it a fresh coat of copper bronzing paint and I love love love the finish. 

Pretty Tiffany style stained glass votive candle cover.

Hey Lucy!!!!   Fantastic brilliant red organza with pretty Valentines hanky pocket.  Very 1950s.

I've had this pretty little satin heart box with pretty petite point cover in my house for years.  Time to share it with another heart lover.

Goofus Glass bulbous rose vase.  Usually covered in gold/red cold paint, this now sun purple vase looks so much prettier.  Perfect for cut flowers all year long.

I moved this sweet face from my main booth to the Victorian booth. He looks happier there.

I love these Victorian through Depression era Cupid Awake/Cupid Asleep prints and will buy them whenever I can find them for resale.  I think they make the perfect valentine.

Brilliant red Jack in the Pulpit vase.  Victorian favorites, someone turned it into a lamp base by drilling a hole at it's base. Sigh, another antique mutilated by an unknowing individual.  Still, it is lovely.

Two interesting finds.  An Arts and Crafts, hand hammered measuring cup and a silverplated chalice. 

It's that time of year for antique Valentines and I have a few placed throughout the Victorian booth.  They always make me smile and I love the beautiful Spencerian script of the giver to the receiver inside.

 

This Valentine is a real beauty and stands almost 14 inches high.

And finally, a spectacular hand needlepointed wool rug.   A lovely Victorian reproduction, this would look smashing in anyone's home.

So it was a great weekend for finding treasure.  Now on to the replacement flooring in my little home.  Have the laminate folks coming tomorrow so I have to prep two bathrooms, a laundry room and our kitchen tonight.  Have to follow up with the carpet replacement next in the living room, dining room, master bedroom and hallway.  I don't even want to think about moving those rooms right now. 

Wishing you all a fantastic week and blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Support Our Troops

Hello Everyone.  Another family member is downrange in the middle east so I continue to hang the Service Flag out my window at home. God speed, Kirk. 

ON the left column of my blog you also see

THE SERVICE FLAG - For those still downrange,

 I keep the service flag up to honor those who continue their service and I pray they are safe as well as their families.

Everyone knows someone who has family or friends or coworkers in the active military or downrange.  Yesterday, I came across a few boxes of the yellow ribbon "Support Our Troops" magnets at my local Goodwill and bought them all.  

 I have 25 of these 4" x 8" magnets, new in the package, that I am giving away to the first 25 visitors who request one.  If you would like a Support Our Troops magnet for your vehicle please drop me an email at mailto:needthis@bellsouth.net noting the mailing address you would like to receive the ribbon at and I will send you one FREE!  Just a SeaWitch way of spreading the thanks to our troops.  Blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch

Booth re-do.

 It's that time again where I'm feeling the need to do a total redo of my booths.  This would be more fun if it wasn't so difficult as we can only work our booths during business hours and we must keep the pathways clear and cannot move items temporarily into other booths...in otherwards do not impede the flow of customer traffic.  So what we are left is taking stuff out, putting it in our vehicles and then moving things, going back to our vehicles and then restocking again.  Sigh. 

Thankfully, I have mastered the art of moving things in tight spaces without undressing everything.  Of course, it is like watching a buffalo move china in a tight space, but hey, a sea witch has gotta do.  I've been wanting to return my large hutch to the original spot for two reasons:  First, it was the first piece your eye caught as your walked down the aisle of booths and it moved my transferware pieces like crazy.  Second, it covered the ugly red grid that my booth neighbor uses to display her items. (LOL)

So that meant moving my lighted display case to inside the booth.  Wasn't really keen on that idea, but while I was working, customers had to walk "into" my booth to get to the case and the light drew them in like bees to honey. This may work out after all.

Brought in lots of new "old" transferware.  Got lucky at my local Goodwill of all places and was able to restock for pennies.  Kept two pieces for myself, I have a thing for large, soft paste platters.   

Moved the vintage kitchen table and this opened up the center of the booth and made items more accessible to the buyer.

Brought in a child's quilt that was made with Captain Kangaroo fabric from the 1950s.  It's a happy vintage textile.

Other neat items that I found was this pair of cast iron mermaid doorstops.  Not old, but nifty just the same and perfect for a sea witch booth.

This jumbo size metal leaf in a verdigris finish is perfect for displaying burning candles or better yet, put it on your coffee table and fill with your electronic remotes.  Those are dinner plates sitting in the middle of that leaf so you can see just how large this leaf is.

My pretty little rocker with the hooked rug seat is too sweet.

 Delightful little ruby red glass apple with silverplated top is a vintage sugar bowl from England.

Adorable little vintage pressed glass syrup pitcher of a log cabin. 

A marvelous find.  Fenton "lavender satin" bird of happiness.  Rare lavender changes color with lighting like the alexandrite stone.  From rich lavender to a ghostly opal blue or white, this is a neat find for the Fenton collector.

Nothing says elegance like Lladro porcelain.  Found this magnificent piece at a local haunt for pennies all because she has a few broken fingers on her back hand.  This retired piece still has value with the damage and can be restored returning it to its greater value.

Sweet set of eight saucers from Royal Doulton.  Pretty roses pattern.

I adore hand colored prints and this "Gay 90's" lady looks lovely in her sassy hat and hand muff.  Pretty original oak frame with metal scrolling and bubbled glass.

Came across a bag full of bisque hearts and thought they would make pretty bowl fillers.  They can be hung as well and would look pretty in a window.

Sis found this great piece while visiting friends in Tallapoosa, GA a few weeks ago.  Gotta love smart phones, she sends me a pic and we close the deal over the phone. 

I delight in the fussiness of Victorian protocol.  If you "came to call" and I was indisposed or not at home to greet you, then you would leave your "calling card" on a tray specifically created for this social grace.  This pretty Victorian calling card tray is faboosh with mythical figures cast on a heavy bronze.  If you must leave your calling card, then do so on a pretty footed tray.

Not old, but so pretty with the dragonfly motif.  This little votive tiffany lamp is perfect for bringing Victoriana to your patio or desk.

Finds this week were very eclectic from old and new but each had a uniqueness to them. Should be a terrific week as it is a full moon today and a Friday the 13th as well.  Love this kind of joojoo. Wishing you all a lovely week and blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch

Stuffing Balls

Okay, you have to admit, that is a grab your attention post title..."Stuffing Balls."  I was chatting with a colleague about holiday foods and how I never keep stuffing more than three days because it spoils so quickly. He said that his wife takes the leftover stuffing and converts them into stuffing balls. 

O M G!!!  This is brilliant and I especially like not having to throw away food (my mother always said it was a sin to throw out food). 

In a nutshell, using either a 1/2 cup measure or an ice cream scooper, take stuffing and roll that amount into a ball and freeze 2-4 of your stuffing balls and put them in freezer bags and put in your freezer.

When you want stuffing, just pull out a bag full from your freezer and either bake for a golden crusty outside or nuke for like you pulled it straight from the bird.  This is so easy peasy that even a seawitch can do it. 

That's my honey giving me a big smack on the lips for being so brilliant.  I didn't have the heart to tell him this idea was from a colleague's wife...he would want to kiss her too.  Have a wonderful weekend all and blessings to you and those you love.   Sea Witch

End of year treasure.

A few more days off before 2011 came to an end and I spent them hitting a few of my favorite haunts.  I'm always fascinated by what comes out of the proverbial woodwork and it was a grand few days of treasure hunting. Always a great way to end one year and then start a new one off.

A terrific find, this heavy and lovely metal birdbath with tiny feeder had me doing cartwheels back to my vehicle.  

A marvelous oak parlor table, wrought iron candelabra and an obelisk.  I'm thinking of beachy aqua blue wash on the parlor table and the candelabra. 

Handpainted "Ice" sign, the kind you find hanging over the ice freezers at convenience marts.

A sweet, sweet child's rocker with original mustard paint.

A great vintage wicker table.  Minor damage but very, very sturdy.  About 4 coats of different color paint and I'm thinking my favorite beachy aqua blue as a redo.  I've got beachy blue colors on the brain right now.

A pair of the neatest wrought iron displays for hanging half mannequins from. 

A closer view of the top part of the displays.  I paid $11.00 for them.  What a great find. 

Okay, just when I thought I couldn't possibly come across another great buy, I see a pair of wrought iron displays.  Lots of overpaint but I will sand a lot of it down and then repaint.  Fit a few travertine tiles in the table bays and off to the store they go.  Dare I tell you what I got for them?  Sure, I paid $20.00 for the pair.  Yikes, I still can't believe it.

And finally, a pretty double wire basket.  Gonna dry paint this up in my beachy aqua blue too.  I usually don't find large pieces like this in one treasure hunt and this was a fantastic way to end one year and start another.

And speaking of a great way to start the new year, my honey is a Massachusetts man and adores his lobsta.  We have been ringing in the new year now with "lobstas" since we met and from what I see in this photo, it looks like it's going to be a good 2012.  Wishing the best to you and those you love for 2012.  Sea Witch