Volunteers are needed until Sept. 30. You can work Tuesday or Wednesdays from 7-8:30pm and Saturdasys from 9-10:30am. If you adopt a plot you can work on it on your own time table.

Call April Clark at 801-544-3089 for more info.

What if you got bit – would you know what to do? And how do you avoid getting bitten in the first place?

This article gives you the lowdown on what to do from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49868755-76/snake-utah-snakes-oliver.html.csp

Trujillo was last seen June 30. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death but don’t suspect foul play. Reported by the Deseret News

I don’t know him but send our best to Mr. Trujillo’s family.

Anyone interested can e-mail  monicaskonnard@gmail.com

You can read about his story on his blog themarinedavidlyon.blogspot.com, I’m starting with the last post first so you can get the story from the beginning. It’s heartbreaking and inspiring. We hope that he’ll continue to get better and that others from our neighborhood and country will be protected (including Tiffany’s husband) when they are gone. Our peace and prayers go out to them.

Tanning beds should come with warnings, just like cigarettes do. There’s a great story in the newspaper today about a woman named MaryAnn Gerber who started tanning at age 13. Why did she? vanity. She wanted to look good. It almost killed her. Even though she used all of the precautions she could. She now actively crusades to try to keep others from making the same mistake.

Utah Museum of Natural History
Get in free to the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City tomorrow,  Monday, June 7. The museum offers free admission the first Monday of every month.

Summer Reading Programs
Read your way to a free pass & coupons for the Utah State Fair. Details here on Leslie Mitchell’s blog (which you should read because it’s great): http://blogs.sltrib.com/cheap/index.php?p=17005&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Free Reading & Writing Workshop in Provo
Brad Wilcox is teaching 2 workshops for students in grades 2-6 to improve their reading and writing. June 14-15, 2010. 11am to 2pm for reading. June 21-22, 11am to 2pm for writing. Orem Library, 58 N. State St. where they hold storytelling. Register at 801-229-7034 or online at oremlibrary.org

Free day at This is the Place Heritage Park
Friday June 11, is free day at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City www.thisitheplace.org Starts at 9:30am to 5pm – thanks to John Huntsman, St. who makes this possible.

Asian Festival 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010 from 10am to 8pm – free admission and parking. At the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy (9575 S State). Many performances as well as kite making, exhibits, photo booth, etc to celebrate Asian culture. See www.utahasianfestival.com

Today you can get free admission to national parks but it’s probably too late for most of you. Leslie Mitchell also blogged about how you can get in free these days too:

• August 14-15, 2010
• September 25, 2010
• November 11, 2010

Go here for more information. Go here to search for a park by name, state or other criteria.

Kaysville Discover Nature Program
Activities include: Hiking Mountain Park, Geocaching, Plant Identification, Insect / Animal identification, Bonneville Trail Hike and Bird identification.

AGES 8 TO 14
INSTRUCTOR: ERIC STUCKI
LOCATION: MOUNTAIN PARK (Map available)
DATES: WEDNESDAYS JUNE 9, 16, 23, 30 JULY 7, 14.
TIME: 9AM TO 11AM
PROGRAM FEE: $30.00
REGISTRATION: MAY 1 UNTIL FULL.
More programs here.

The balsamic vinaigrette is to die for – it gets thick when it cools but you can use it like a spread. It’s my new favorite glaze – I want to try it over other vegetables and with other dishes. It’s quite easy to make. I overcooked the artichokes so I didn’t pan sear them or they’d have fallen apart – I just drizzled the vinaigrette over them. I could’ve made double the amount of vinaigrette also.

Starter (I know this is not traditional – the cheese usually comes in the middle)

Bread with selection of cheese and with the balsamic glaze leftovers (recipe below). Garnished with red grapes, dried apricots and nuts. Served with sparkling juice. I also had some chocolate pieces.

Main Course

Chicken Cordon Bleu (taken from this web page and this one for the marinade)

This is a pan cooked version and doesn’t have bread crumbs – I now prefer it to the traditional recipes I’ve made before that have you bake this in the oven.

First, marinate the chicken a few hours to overnight:

Wash off the chicken breasts.  Then cut the thicker pieces in half and pound the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/2 inch thickness and put in a ziplock bag with:

1 T (kosher if you have it) salt,
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
Add 2 cloves minced garlic,  and 1/2 tsp. baking powder.
Toss well. Place the chicken in a large bowl or a sealable zip-top bag. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of white wine (or water) and olive oil. When time to use rinse off and pat dry with paper towels.

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream
chopped basil, for garnish (optional)

1. Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.

2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine of broth and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Pan Seared Artichoke with Balsamic Glaze (from this web site)

Ingredients

Yields: 4 servings

2 whole jumbo artichokes
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Parmesan

Vinaigrette (this is amazing)

1 teaspoon superfine sugar (I used regular)
1 tablespoon raw honey (I used regular)
1 teaspoon honey Dijon Mustard (I used regular)
¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons avocado oil (I used olive oil for all of the oil)
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon fleur de sel (salt)
¼ teaspoon white peppercorns, freshly ground (I used regular)
1 teaspoon fried onions (I omitted)

Preparation

Place a bucket filled with water in the sink. Swirl each artichoke upside down in the water. Make sure there is no dirt trapped between the leaves. Remove and discard the tough outer leaves. Cut the stems and trim the top a little. Cut the thorns from the leaves using a pair of scissors. This step is optional but it’s always unpleasant to be “stabbed” by an artichoke leaf.

Bring the water to a boil in a steamer. Throw the cut leaves and stems into the water of the steamer. Place the artichokes in the steamer, cover and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes until the bottoms of the vegetables are tender. A good way to check is to poke the choke with a pairing knife.

Remove from the steamer and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Slice it in two, length wise using a chef knife.

In a large pan, heat up some olive oil, get the garlic slightly golden then add the halved artichokes face down for about 2 minutes. Remove the artichokes. Pour the balsamic vinegar, then place the artichokes back so the balsamic glaze coats each one fully.

Plate the artichokes. Garnish with parsley and freshly shaved parseman cheese. Serve with the vinaigrette.

Pour more balsamic vinegar in the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and let it reduce until you have about more than a tablespoon of the balsamic syrup. Remove from the heat. Dissolve the sugar and honey then add the mustard and oils. Whisk the vinaigrette so that the mixture emulsifies. Add the fried onions. Season with fleur de sel and white peppercorns. Add chopped curly parsley.

Tips

For this recipe, I like jumbo-size artichokes because the bigger the artichoke, the bigger the heart. I like to pick them with dense, thightly packed leaves and sharp thorns. The stem should be still moist with a fresh light color, to check the freshness.

Cooked artichokes do not refrigerate well.

For the vinaigrette, it’s important that you emulsify all the ingredients while the vinegar syrup is still hot. It’ll just make the process easier.

Carottes Vichy (find the original here)

Ingredients

Yields: 8

4 lbs carrots
6 cups seltzer water (or carbonated water)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 stick butter, (8 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon light molasses (I didn’t have any so I just added another tsp. of brown sugar)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons curly parlsey, finely chopped (I used dry)

Preparation

Peel and cut the carrots on the bias into 2-inch slices. In a pot, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and molasses, salt, 6 tablespoons of butter and the carbonated water. Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid. Reduce to medium-heat and cook for about 40 minutes (until fork tender).

Drain the extra liquid (if any).

When you’re ready to serve, add the remaining butter and sprinkle some curly parsley.

So pretty and so yummy!

Serve crepes for desert – I used this belgium waffle mix which is my favorite mix of all time. You can make crepe batter with it. This mix is amazing but I cannot find it locally now so I have to order it online on Amazon where it got 5/5 stars from all but 1 reviewer. I put Nutella and/or mixed berries and creme for the filling. I used a frying pan to cook them.

I just joined a hiking group called Davis County Hiking Meetup Group. I really enjoyed going – it was a 2 hour round trip hike and it was pretty and a great opportunity to learn more about our community. I liked that the leader of the hike told us about plants, geology, animals and history of the area as we walked. There was a waterfall and people of all ages came.

I’m not in the market for a job but I  found out about 2 career options that I’d never heard of or considered. Just by chatting. I’ve decided to broaden my interests from ebusiness to other interests too but I love these informal ways of learning. People are usually more open to newcomers than your average group that you have to know someone to join. I recommend them if you’re looking to date more (even if the people themselves aren’t someone you’d date they know other people: think referrals).

One of my favorite stories is how my husband’s client who is in the military got stationed in Ogden Utah. He didn’t know the area and chose an apartment complex to live. My husband asked how he liked it there. He said it was alright but he lived across the street from a strange looking building. Also, he remarked how there were a lot of people old enough to be his grandma and not many singles.

My husband laughed and said something like, dude, you’re living in church housing. This is where retired people who go to the LDS temple live. But he liked that it was quiet and not a lot of competition at the apartment gym. My husband remarked that it’s also a good place to find a wife. If he got in with the people who lived there and they liked him, they’d most likely introduce him to their grand daughters.

It worked. He went skiing with a couple, got invited to their family reunion and when he was there he met and dated two of their granddaughters. He married one of them.

So if you want to broaden your social circle, get out on a hike with your dog or kids, or simply get to see more of our beautiful state, check out Meetup. You might get more than you signed up for.