Recipes and Aprons: Spring is Coming!

This time of year I anxiously anticipate spring and my dinner menu tends to reflect a more tropical/summer theme.  It’s like I think I can hasten the coming of warmer weather by serving food appropriate for a beach vacation or a backyard barbecue. 🙂

One of my favorite (and easiest!) recipes for Spring and Summer is Shrimp Scampi.  Its light flavor and short preparation time make it perfect for an impromptu dinner on the back patio.

The Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

  • 12 oz. package angel hair pasta
  • 1 lb. deveined and peeled shrimp
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 bunch green onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ bunch chopped cilantro

1)      Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2)      At the same time, over medium heat, combine rest of ingredients and cook until shrimp are opaque, about 7-9 minutes, depending on shrimp size.

3)      Serve shrimp mixture over pasta. (I like to serve mine with garlic bread too!)

Enjoy!

The Betty Double Band Green/White Dot w/Pink TiesThe Apron: The Betty Double Band Green and White Polka Dot Apron with Pink Ties

This Springy apron is perfect for March, and its full coverage will ensure that none of that shrimp juice winds up on your favorite blouse! 🙂

For the Love of Aprons

You may have received the following email at some point in time.  And while I generally delete the endless streams of “forwards” without a second thought, this one caught my attention.

What caught my eye first off was that it was a friend of mine that usually communicates with me via Facebook, and the fact that she said it reminded her of me.  It was that personal message that prompted me to read on.

I hadn’t yet seen this email.  And while I cannot vouch for all of the apron uses listed in this piece , I thought it’s reproduction here would make a perfect ode to aprons on this Valentine’s Day.

The email is reproduced below:

*****

Notice that a "Medium" is a size 14 - 16

The History of  ‘APRONS’

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.  Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill
to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron

I don’t think I ever caught anything from an apron – but love…

*****

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February Giveaway

Good morning friends of Swanky Aprons!

Much of our country has been blasted by some of the worst winter storms in recent memory this week, which had me thinking that Punxsutawney Phil should be looking for a new line of work.  If you’re a summer person like me, this time of year can seem to drag on drearily for what seems like forever.

Hopefully our February prize will help brighten someone’s day in the meantime. 🙂

This month, our winner gets to choose a set of our personalized designer recipe cards (see www.swankyaprons.com for a full list of styles).

In case you’re new to this routine, here are the ways you can enter:

Here’s how you enter:

1)      Follow Swanky Aprons on Twitter and tweet the following: Personalized recipe card #giveaway! RT & follow @swanky_aprons for a chance to win! Ends 2/28. https://swankyaprons.wordpress.com

2)      Become a fan of Swanky Aprons on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/swankyaprons

3)      Suggest our Facebook page to your friends, if they “like” us and post a comment there saying you invited them; you’ll get an extra entry for each friend.

4)      Subscribe to this blog (see the right side of the screen under Recent Tweets)

Good luck!