July 3rd,2012 By Olga Goddard Yesterday I shared with you a recipe for stuffed tomatoes with cheese. Have you had a chance to try to make them? What do you think? 
I had some cheese stuffing left over after I cooked the stuffed tomatoes. I took some zucchini squashes that I found in our refrigerator,and here is what I did:
Slice the zucchini into long strips down the length of the zucchini (usually 4 slices from the center of each squash). Lightly grill both sides of each slice. Lay the slice on a plate and top with the cheese stuffing. Roll it up. Place a skewer through the roll to hold it,with 4 rolls on a skewer. Cover it with aluminum foil and put it on a hot grill for 4-5 minutes. Unwrap the squash,put in on a plate and then carefully remove the skewer. Add fresh herbs from your garden and sliced fresh pepper. Enjoy your lunch or light dinner. Ingredients that I used (one serving):1 zucchini,1 yellow pepper and cheese stuffing left over. Have recipes you would like to share? If you have any experience cooking with flowers or herbs,please send your recipes to
olga{@ } myfavoriteflowers.com. If we publish your recipe on our blog we will send you a bottle of doTERRA essential oil as a gift. Have a great Tuesday!
Yours,
Olga You may also love: July 2nd,2012 By Olga Goddard I love to eat good,natural,healthy food. Can’t say that I spend hours and hours in the kitchen,but once in a while I feel inspired to experiment with ingredients,and really love seeing what I can create! As you know,many vegetables (and fruits) grow from flowers. So,cooking with these veggies is really just cooking with flowers that have grown into their next life stage,right?  Most of the dishes that I cook are raw,grilled or steamed. Plus,I use a lot of herbs,essential oils and olive oil. I don’t consider myself to be an expert by any means,but I do have a lot of fun! I would just like to share with you some of my favorite,easy recipes that I make for my family and friends. Feel free to improvise,add your own touch,and please share with me your experiences and/or “improved” recipes. Today I want to share with you one of my very favorites – stuffed tomatoes with cheese. They are easy to make,takes about 30 min,they’re yummy and my husband loves them! (and so do I)  Ingredients:
- 8 –10 fresh medium or large round tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp fresh Basil or Peppermint
- 1/2 cup fresh Spinach
- 2 drops Lemon essential oil (I use doTERRA because I find it offers excellent quality and flavor – and it’s good for you!)
- 1 drop Basil essential oil (ditto)
- 2 Tbsp Sunflower seeds
- 4 Tbsp any nuts (I use Pecans or Walnuts)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp water Additional materials:
- Aluminum foil Stuffing: Mix Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese,add pressed garlic,add salt and black pepper as you like. Cut Spinach and Basil leaves into very small pieces and add them to the cheese mixture. Cut nuts into small pieces and add to the cheese. Add Sunflower seeds. Mix Lemon and Basil essential oils with 2 tablespoons of water,add 2 tablespoons of olive oils and mix everything together very thoroughly. Preparation: Cut top of the tomatoes,remove all the seeds (save everything,later we can do a tomatoes juice). I use knife and ice cream spoon to remove the seeds. Stuff tomatoes with a cheese mix. Put the topper of the tomatoes on top of each tomato,wrap each tomato in aluminum foil with the shiny side facing in. Bake it on a hot grill for 6-8 minutes. Serve tomatoes in half-opened foil,slightly cooled off. BONUS: Put all tomato seeds in a blender. Add spinach,salt and Lemon essential oil as you like (I usually add 3-4 drops for 8 tomatoes as I love a strong taste). Blend at high speed for 30 seconds. If you have any experience cooking with flowers or herbs,please send your recipes to olga{@ }myfavoriteflowers.com. If we publish your recipe on our blog we will send you a bottle of doTERRA essential oil as a gift. Bon appetit,
Yours,
Olga  P.S. Last time I cooked stuffed tomatoes,I had some cheese stuffing left over.
Check back tomorrow,as I’m going to share the recipe for zucchini cheese rolls. Yes,the one that is in the picture See you tomorrow! You may also love: June 25th,2012 By Olga Goddard My first “meeting” with Tina was by phone. She called me to ask a few questions about flowers,and it turned into a fun conversation about Tina’s experience in the Ukraine,where she had been teaching English … so it was a great opportunity for both of us to practice speaking Russian. Later,Tina and Shaun stopped by to talk more about their wedding flowers,and it was an enjoyable experience to see how Tina and Shaun worked together – asking each other’s opinion about what to include in the wedding flowers. Tina wanted to include several thoughtful and beautifully sentimental details,from lace to a special flower tribute to her grandparents.  
It was such a touching and beautiful experience to design and arrange flowers for Tina and Shaun’s wedding. I wish them both an abundance of happiness and beautiful moments in their journey through life together! Flowers (except bridal bouquet): {MyFavoriteFlowers.com}, Photographers:{Photo Love Stories},Wedding planner: {Forever More Events}, Reception Center: {The Ledges of St George} ,Wedding Dress: {Lauren James Bridal} Love each other!
Yours,
Olga You may also love: June 11th,2012 By Olga Goddard Pin It June 7th,2012 By Olga Goddard My love for living things and nature extends beyond beautiful flowers! Such an interesting chain of events (see if you can follow this) –As my husband was renting a van for his work I found a dollar bill on the floor of the agency. The employee teased that I could keep it,but I didn’t feel that it was really mine. Where could this dollar be put to best use? It didn’t seem like quite enough to end the worlds woes,but maybe it could bring a smile somewhere. While shopping for cruelty free pet food at a local store I saw the box for donations to one of the local organizations that helps animals,and knew that was where the dollar belonged. My husband and I agreed to add a few more dollars (perhaps it multiplied in my purse?),and we were smiling as I placed our little contribution in the box. We were joined in our smile by the kind and thoughtful woman at the check-out stand as I explained about the dollar “looking for the right home.” I hope it will help a precious creature find her or his way to the right home. All of these smiles made my day! I highly recommend acts of loving kindness as a way to brighten your day too!!! With Love,
Olga You may also love: June 4th,2012 By Olga Goddard I would like to follow last weeks post about the “Love and Fire” wedding,with a wonderful story about Valerie &Jeff’s wedding – that included icy elements in all of their floral arrangements. Valerie’s colors were white and purple,and I absolutely loved her idea to include an “icy” look in all of the centerpieces and the buffet table arrangement. As the wedding was in spring,the melting ice idea fit perfectly! Valerie loves pussy willow and so these beautiful spring branches were also included in every floral element of the wedding.  Fun and playful centerpiece were based on hand-tied bouquets with Hydrangea,Pussy Willow and Roses arranged in a vase with purple “Kermit” buttons “melting the ice”.
  The buffet table arrangement was adorned with a unique arrangement of four tall cylinder clear glass vases filled with “melting ice”,“Kermit” buttons and Pussy Willow.
The wedding cake was done by an amazing cake artist – Yvonne and adorned with a custom made figurine of the Bride and Groom – Valerie and Jeff. Valerie creates the cutest custom made cake toppers – make sure to check them out in her shop on Etsy.com. 
 Flowers: {MyFavoriteFlowers.com}, Photographers: {Tiffany Jane Photography}, Cake: {Bridal Cakes by Yvonne}, Reception center: {Bell Tower Courtyard}
What do you think about the “melting ice” idea for a wedding? As the weather warms-up in St. George we may see more than just ice melting! Completely melted,
Olga You may also love: May 29th,2012 By Olga Goddard I have been too slow about posting pictures from the weddings that I have done these past couple of years. I need to start posting more often to catch-up on sharing with you the amazing weddings and events with which I have had the pleasure of being involved. To start with,I need to borrow from Photo Love Stories blog (Amy and Natasha are great to work with) the story behind Anthony and Kristi’s wedding. “Anthony and Kristi met over six years ago (well,this year it’s over seven years ago – Olga) while working at the fire department. Initially they were at odds with each other. Kristi explained that at one time,her favorite line was… “Shut up Miller!” But he was a goofy man,and he made Kristi laugh. Kristi became Anthony’s lead instructor for his EMT-B class and he was hot for teacher. Since those early days,they’ve been on numerous calls together including structure fires,car and motorcycle accidents,life-saving medical calls,gas leaks,rescues,etc.” I think this perfectly describes the unusual roots of a wonderful relationship.  The ceremony and reception took place at the Garden’s Bed and Breakfast. “Anthony and Kristi’s Scottish inspired wedding included elements of fire to honor their profession. Their white wedding cake was trimmed with “flames” and topped with a firefighting bride and groom. The bouquet included orange and red flowers. The bride wore red shoes and a wedding dress detailed with red. There was even a fire engine … all to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line each day.
The “Bridesmen” (not Bridesmaids) and Groomsmen lined the path taken by their friend and co-worker as she descended the staircase to tearfully embrace her father. Kristi was gorgeous as she walked toward Anthony,followed by a line of men dressed in kilts … and yes,the sound of bagpipes filled the air. What a marvelous ceremony to honor their union,the circumstances which brought them together,and the brave individuals with whom they work!” 
Flowers: {MyFavoriteFlowers.com}, Photographers:{Photo Love Stories} …and please remember,never play with a fire Love,
Olga You may also love: May 21st,2012 By Olga Goddard Last year has been amazing and very productive,which is one of the reason why my blog seemed to be abandoned by it’s owner ! So,now I am trying to catch-up on the fantastic weddings,events and styled photo shoots that I have been involved in. I want to share with you a styled photo shoot that is so dear to me! This shoot helped me to build my relationships with talented professionals and became the starting point for more fun and creative associations! Through this photo shoot I had the pleasure of getting to know an incredibly talented,outside-the-box thinker –Taylor Proctor. We have become great friends and I just love her fun red-headed personality. I continue to be amazed by how creative,passionate and professional she is. Those who follow my blog have heard me say before (Fire) that it is always so much fun to work with Amy and Natasha from Photo Love Stories. And as it turns out,they are great natural light photographers! Working on this shoot also introduced me to the talented Merilee from Merilee Photography. Next,I had another opportunity to work with an amazing Bride and Groom (now husband and wife ) – Kourtney and Jake,for whom I had the privilege to design wedding flowers last spring. The last (but not least) wonderful moment from this shoot is that it has been featured on two popular wedding blogs:UtahBrideBlog.com and TheBrideAndGroom.com And today,finally,I’m featuring this remarkable shoot on my blog.    
{Design/ Coordination}: Taylor Made Weddings and Events {Flowers}: My Favorite Flowers {Photography}: Photo Love Stories &Merilee Photography {Sushi}:Benja Thai {Jewelry}: JK Jewelers {Dress}: Bella Donna Boutique {Make up and Hair}: Vanessa Rae Hair and Make Up {Models}:Kourtney and Jake Millard Loving sushi and sea foam ! Yours,
Olga You may also love: May 14th,2012 By Olga Goddard This year I had the privilege of being invited to arrange flowers for a beautifully designed and constructed Split Rock home at Entrada. This home was filled with amazing artwork created by the Southwest artists Seth Winegar,Kate Starling,and Andrew Sinclair and the lovely surrealistic work of Whitney Wood.
  
Many thanks to Annette of Little Gems Photography for taking pictures of the flowers. Where are your favorite places to have fresh flowers in your home? Talk to you soon!
Olga You may also love: May 10th,2012 By Olga Goddard Who wouldn’t like for their fresh floral arrangements to last longer – as they beautify your home or office? There are a few simple tips that can really help!  1. Change the water every other day. Make sure that the water is at room temperature (slightly cool to the touch).
2. Trim the bottom of the stems once a week (best done holding the stems under water) – it will help the flowers to “drink” water. 3. Keep your floral arrangements away from direct sunlight and out of hot temperatures. The cooler the room,the longer your flowers will last! I was born in Siberia,and luckily my husband likes cool temperatures also,so flowers in our home last for a long time. We usually keep our home at about 64 f in the winter and 72 in the summer). 4. Make sure that there are no leaves in the water as they rot quickly and promote the growth of bacteria in the water (which will shorten the life of the flowers). 5. When you are selecting flowers,look for flowers that are buds – just beginning to open. Yellow,spotted or drooping leaves are signs of aging in flowers (just like in humans!). If you have any questions about flower care tips please give us a call at 435.680.2914. Have a day full of flowers!
Yours,
Olga You may also love: |  We are your all-in-one inspirational resource for everyone who uses flowers for a variety of purposes. Not only do we feature unique ideas and details using flowers for weddings, events, special occasions and holidays, but we also specialize in home decor, interior design, landscaping, cuisine, and more. We proudly service all industries including photographers, interior designers, floral designers, wedding and event planners, chefs, artists, and beyond. |
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