Did you celebrate the 4th on the 4th? Though I had it off work (strange to have a Wednesday off) we didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Our plans are for this Saturday, swimming, snack food/appetizers and pizzas and then some fireworks, I bought enough to put on a half hour to 45 minute show, it should be fun! I’m excited. You would think I still had a little one at home but, it’s not the case. I’ll be the coolest Granmama though with all these fireworks someday in the near future 🙂
Sticking with the “don’t you dare turn the oven on” ban this week, I’ve made an old favorite of mine. It’s also a great pot-luck dish and comes together quickly and it won’t break the bank either. I’ve taken it to work for lunch two days in a row now and it’s plenty to fill me up on these lovely, hot days. Try it and I bet your palate will say thank you!
Spaghetti Salad
Seasoning Mix:
2 oz. parmesan cheese (or eyeball it ;))
1 T. sesame seed
1 T. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. accent
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. poppy seeds
Mix with 8 oz. cooked (cooled) spaghetti
8 oz. bottle Zesty Italian dressing
Seasoning mix
And veggies of your choice. I used two roma tomatoes, 1 large cucumber, 1 white onion and 1 can of slice black olives.
Dice everything about the same size.
You could also add: mushrooms, green (or any color) peppers, carrots, celery. The sky is the limit 😉
Voila! A simple side salad that is easy and filling.
Now a few pics I’ve taken of my hollyhocks along the way. I mainly have white or a very pale pink but, I also have some dark pink that are just gorgeous. These are between the two back doors of my house and along side the garage (which faces the house). This first picture is from April 27, 2012.
This was May 28, 2012, I tried take pictures about a month apart. Look what a difference in height, my lights are almost covered!
This was on June 25, 2012. Just starting to bloom.
A week later on July 3, 2012 and they’re in full swing!
Here’s my darker pink…aren’t they lovely? 🙂
These flowers produce hundreds of seeds. As you can see they get 5-6 feet tall and make great border flowers. If you put them where it’s windy though, you may need stakes. If you would like some seeds, come this fall, leave a comment about the seeds and I will put you on my mailing list. I’ll get your address farther down the line. Have a wonderful holiday weekend y’all!!
twodogsinthekitchen 
Those are gorgeous!! I wish I knew where I’ll be living for sure come fall, I’d definitely take some seeds!
Sounds like you have a fun Saturday planned! I LOVE fireworks, but this is the second year in a row that I have missed them. We spent yesterday at a 1st birthday party, and of course once baby was asleep it turned into a grown up party…pretty fun!
I’ll still add you to the list Sam, we’ll just see where you’re going to be 🙂 Glad you had fun at your party too. It’s calling for rain Saturday but, I’m hoping that changes by then!
What a cute blog! Your hollyhocks are beautiful! I love the tall shape of the plant too! I have tried for years to get some hollyhocks started from seed but it never seems to work for me. I believe once I got them to bloom and dry I might have them reseed for me the following year. Did you originally buy plants or were you able to get the seeds going? I would love to try some of your seeds. The dark pink especailly bring to mind wonderful childhood thoughts of visiting my Grandma’s house! 🙂
Oh and whenever I get a chance to put the TV on I too tend to gravitate towards the FoodNetwork channel!!! And I can sit and watch one show after the other all afternoon!!!!!! 🙂
Thanks Catherine! My hollyhocks were actually there when I moved in 7 years ago. Since then, I have replanted many seeds and most all of them survive. The ones by the garage I didn’t even plant, the seeds just blew over there. I love perennials, they are so easy to care for! Since you don’t have a blog, send me your full name and address at sueshaw09@yahoo.com and I will send you seeds this fall 🙂 And yes, Food Network is addictive 😉
Beautiful, I love hollyhocks!! Your spaghetti salad sounds delicious and I love that there is limited time spent at a hot stove!!
Gotcha’ on my list 🙂 I love cold food, hot food just seems too ‘heavy’ some nights.
My husband would totally eat that spaghetti salad, it looks awesome. I love anything with Paprika 🙂 I am jealous of your flowers, I cannot grow a thing and the desert doesn’t help me.
Yep, my hubs will eat this too. I can imagine with your heat nothing much can thrive, except maybe the cactuses 😉
Those flowers are stunning my friend 😀
Lovely colour!
Hope you have an awesome Saturday and happy 4th 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you! Saturday should be fun, getting all ready for it tonight 🙂
Wow, those hollyhocks really shot up high! They are so pretty! Do they need full sunlight or shade? If full, maybe I could put them around our fence instead of all the random weedy bushes that are there now. Love your spaghetti salad–I start eating more pasta in summer b/c I like to do stovetop cooking. I consider pasta a more filling food, but it works nice for summer b/c you don’t have to heat the house much to make it.
They need partial to full sun, so you would be all set. Instead of stakes you can use string and tie them to the fence if they get tall and want to fall over. Or your dog runs through them knocking them over…I know this from experience 😉 I added you to my list. This salad is a favorite and a hit at pot-lucks too.
Jessie would probably dig a hole in between them to nap. She loves napping in the shade if she goes outside–we have a hole right outside our door where there are tall treee/bush/weed type things. We don’t cut all of them down b/c she likes to sleep under them. Thanks, I look forward to growing something out there besides weeds. ha! I can see this salad would be great for potlucks. YUMMMY!
I need to hop on the summer dish bandwagon like you and put a ban on the stove. But I had a severe compulsion yesterday to make beef bourgignon. Don’t ask me why . . . but I did it. And I sweated. I just had to have stew. WHY???
Yum, beef bourgignon….sounds so good. It did cool down finally last night and we are in the upper 70’s/lower 80’s for a few days now. I wanted some warm, comfort food in the evening and though I used the crockpot, I made white beans and ham. It hit the spot! So I can relate Jenna 🙂
My grandma used to have hollihocks – they grow so fast! I know, it was weird that the holiday fell on a Wednesday this year! Glad you had a nice 4th, even if low key!