Summer Picnic Blog Hop!

I am so excited, as are my Hosti sisters, to be a part of another of our Hero Hostess Blog Hops!  We had so much fun last January that we decided to do it all over again this summer, using as our theme Summer Picnic! The Hop began on Monday, and we've set a nice easy pace of 4 or 5 blogs each day, so you can take your time all this week.  Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments.   For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the Hop on ANY day, including each day's starting post at the Hero Club Blog.  The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!  And I've added a little giveaway of my own, see more below.

You should have arrived today from Arlene's blog.  If you just happened across me and would like to start at the beginning, go to the Hero Arts Club blog, where you'll find the line-up for today.   Our fearless leader, Deborah, has been writing some hysterical posts there each day that you won't want to miss!  If you find a broken link, please report it to: blog@heroarts.com.  Let's get started!

I knew immediately what I'd make.......a jar of pink lemonade against a quilt background.  I love lemonade on a hot summer day, and pink lemonade is even better.  Add a well-loved quilt spread out on the grass in the shade, and I'm in heaven!

supplies:  Hero Arts CL673 Love Jar,white card base, design papers from Basic Grey's Mint Julep 6" paper pad, yellow cardstock for lemon wedge, pink cardstock for lemonade insert, vellum for jar,  Butter Bar mid-tone and VersaFine onyx black inks, Simon Says Stamp pink straw, Signo white gel pen and ruler for faux-stitching, Cuttlebug Juli's Garden embossing folder

We also decided to share a favorite summer recipe.  Mine is a Pasta Salad that I found in our kids' grade-school cookbook, way back in the 1980's.  In my opinion, it's best made when the little Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes are being harvested - they taste like candy!   You can add anything you like to this recipe, but it's the dressing that makes it, I think!

Pasta Salad

16 oz. package corkscrew pasta

1/2 C. olive oil

1/4 C. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. fresh basil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse, drain, cool to still warm.  Mix remaining ingredients for dressing and pour over warm pasta; toss.  You may need to adjust the olive oil and lemon juice, keeping the same proportions,  2 to 1, if you think the mixture is too dry Cool completely in refrigerator, then add:

chopped red/green pepper

fresh cherry tomatoes or chopped tomato

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

4 oz. provolone cheese, sliced and diced

4 oz. salami, sliced and diced 

other additions:

garbanzo beans

olives

fresh mushrooms

Toss all together and keep refrigerated until time to eat.

I'm the final stop of our hop for today, but be sure to check the Hero Arts blog tomorrow for the new lineup for Friday. Thanks so much for visiting - hope you're enjoying our virtual picnic!

I'd like to give away a Hero Arts/Archiver's Arrows exclusive stamp and die set and a set of Hero Arts ink cubes, including the new peach and mint julep colors.  Just be sure to leave me a comment here by 11:59 PM EDT, Saturday, July 27, and I'll use random.org to choose a winner. I'll announce that name on Monday, July 29 here on my blog.