It was a big week and this is a great Four Foods on Friday! First, it was St. Patrick’s Day, then it was my birthday, and green is my favorite color!

1. What’s your favorite green food?

Definitely, peas.

2. Do you eat anything special on St Patrick’s Day?

Corned beef and cabbage!

3. Do you drink any Irish beverages – tea, coffee, ale, beer, etc?

Do shamrock shakes count? I haven’t had one in years but I remember them being quite tasty.

4. Share a recipe for corned beef.

My mom is in charge of the corned beef preparation. Vienna has the beef packaged with all the spices, ready to simmer.

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful outside. The temps have ranged from 60 to almost 75 degrees with lots of sunshine. We even headed to the beach to take our dog for a walk along the shoreline, and along the way we saw lots of motorcycles out enjoying the first warm weekend.

Of course, after we passed the first few motorcycles, Mike said that we needed to get a bike, which means he’d be part of the metric motorcycle community, which is all about cruiser customizing. A place for bikers to discuss their rides, and share pictures and videos.

The first thing Mike would add to the bike? A sidecar for our dog.

I kind of regret never going to any formals in high school. Between school and sports, my group of friends wasn’t into getting dressed up and spending the evening listening to a DJ in our school gym. Shopping for prom dresses just wasn’t a priority for me then, but now I love to look at formal wear even though I have nowhere to go.

Elegant Mart has fabulous dresses for proms, parties, and balls, all priced below retail. Many of the dresses look very couture, and you can be sure there won’t be anyone else wearing the same dress. I know I would have gone for something completely out of the box, like the dress pictured.

Maybe I’ll throw a prom party so all of us adults can get dressed up and relive our senior year!

I watch the ABC World News with Charlie Gibson every evening while I am eating dinner or getting in some Wii Fit stepping. I absolutely love Charlie and the way he engages everyone in the news and I especially enjoy that he tells me that he hopes I had a great day at the end of every broadcast. It’s his signature sign-off.

The other evening, I was super excited to hear Charlie introduce a segment about something I’m going to get to see firsthand this fall…Dolphin Bubbles at SeaWorld! Just watch, and you’ll quickly see why I was so captivated by the video…

Everybody knows that dolphins are super intelligent, but the story goes that one dolphin started blowing bubbles and taught all the other dolphins how to do the same! Now they all blow perfect circles, push them around with their noses, and swim through them to entertain themselves and the SeaWorld guests! It’s easy to see why the dolphins are a huge attraction at the park.

All of their personalities really start to shine when you see all the dolphins playing and interacting with each other, and I can’t wait to see dolphin bubbles for myself when I visit in October!

Oh, my sweet, wonderful, beautiful blog! How I’ve missed you! I’ve barely been able to spout off at all during the past week and I’ve missed blogging terribly, so I’m excited to jump back in with this week’s Four Foods on Friday.

1. Olive oil. What kind do you prefer to use?

I buy Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil. It’s not light in calories, just a lighter olive oil flavor. It also has a higher spoke point, so it’s great for sautéing.

2. Meatballs. Do you make them from scratch, buy premade cooked or buy premade frozen?

I’ve been making them from scratch with spinach, feta cheese, and an egg to bind.

3. Do you use napkins at home? Paper or cloth?

I don’t like the texture of paper napkins, unless it’s the expensive kind, so we use paper towels. Generic Target brand, of course.

4. Share a recipe for a white sauce.

I don’t have a recipe for white sauce, but I have a recipe to make your favorite white sauce extra fancy!

Champagne Sauce

To every 2 cups of your favorite cream sauce, add approximately 2 tablespoons of reduced chicken stock. Simmer and whisk sauce for approximately 20 minutes. Prior to serving, add 1/2 cup of champagne, stir and serve.