Very Tall

See you at the beach
(we are the really tall people),
Susan

Good Morning

A glimpse of the gulf this morning.

Sunset

 

Beautiful sunset over Big Lagoon

A Good Paddle

Another great paddle on Perdido Bay

Happy Friday

 reblogged from Aubrey Road

River Otter near Good Haven House

 

photo by Hans Roenau

Yesterday, Peter and I were coming over the causeway on the way home from walking Sophie, and a river otter ran across the road about 15 feet in front of us on the way from the bay to the bayou. We were so surprised. I didn't even know there were otters in our neck of the woods! Very exciting, had to share.

See you at the beach,

Susan

Diamond Days

A friend told me that his father used to call days like today (52 degrees, not a cloud in the sky with a bit of a breeze) diamond days because the wind ruffling up the water made it sparkle like diamonds. 

I just love that.

The beach is good even on 'diamond days'.

Photo of the Intercoastal Waterway between Santa Rosa Island and Perdido Key from the catwalk of the Pensacola Lighthouse, by Susan Havenga.

Bye Bye 2011 - Happy New Year 2012

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.  -Benjamin Franklin

Happiest of New Years

Hope to see you at the beach in 2012,

Susan

Happy Friday and Merry Christmas from Good Haven House

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. 

To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

-Calvin Coolidge

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. 

- Victor Hugo 

 

 

See all of Brent Walker's exceptional photostream of wildlife around Good Haven House on Flickr

I will be back to regular posting soon. Working on a big rehab project that I will share in a few weeks. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving all.

Happy Friday and Happy Labor Day

Have a restful Labor Day weekend everyone!

See you at the beach,

Susan

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake

NEED NOW!

For the 8 dozen cookies make 1 recipe of toll house cookies from the back of the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
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I would leave the whiskey out (or give 2 or 3 servings of this to your kids just before nap time  :)  
just kidding, really)

from Martha Stewart Living July 2011

Happy Friday

Jump into the weekend!

See you at the beach,

Susan

Photo Unknown tumblr via Aubrey Road

Best Salsa Ever

Making a big batch of the 'best salsa ever' is a great way to use up all of the tomatoes coming out of the garden right now.

cast of characters

tomatoes, quartered

 1/2 green pepper in strips

cilantro, coarsely chopped

 Juice from 1 lime (this one was kind of dry)

 

 put all ingredients into the bowl a large food processor

 dig in!

Good Haven House's Best Salsa Ever

time: 15 minutes

total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

makes: 4-5 cups

6-8 medium tomatoes

1/2 of a medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, quartered

1/2 green pepper, quartered OR 1/2 red pepper, quartered

1 jalapeno pepper, quartered, leave some seeds and spine depending on how hot you like it!

2 pinches of sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or more to taste)

1/2 - 1 cup coarsely chopped, packed cilantro (to taste)

juice from 1/2 a lime (or one if small or dry)

1. Put all ingredients in a large food processor and pulse 15 times or more (depends on how course you like your salsa chopped) Taste test on a tortilla chip and adjust to your taste. ( I rarely add more salt as the chips are usually pretty salty)

2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (if you can stand to wait!) to let flavors mingle.

3. Serve with tortilla chips or if you're really feeling ambitious, nachos. Delicious! 

Note 1: This is a very free form recipe, feel free to experiment and add or subtract ingredients to your own taste and the texture you prefer.

Note 2: This makes A LOT of salsa. You can cut the recipe in half if you don't have a big crowd.

Note 3: You can chop the ingredients by hand if you don't have a food processor. It will have a different texture but will still taste great!

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This will keep a few days in the frig. We love this stuff at Good Haven House and it usually doesn't last that long!

Shelling

One of our family's favorite things to do together is head to the beach with an empty bucket and go shelling. Everyone from grandparents to toddlers enjoys a good treasure hunt and you never know what you might find besides seashells! Driftwood, fisherman's floats, coral, sand dollars, sea glass and all sorts of interesting stuff washes up, especially after a good storm or day of heavy surf.

'Looking for shells' by jleeper via Flickr

The best place to look for shells is at the high tide line where the seaweed washes up and lines the sand.

photo 'Walking Away' by raindrops_on_roses via Flickr

Please, be careful not to take shells with live creatures inside or live sand dollars. It's the law in Florida. These shells are their homes, and we need them to live and do the things that they do to keep the ecological balance of our waters and coastline. All empty shells are fair game on Perdido Key.  

'More Shells" by Daryl Berg via Flickr

seashells.org is a great site to help you identify your finds, with tips on cleaning and preserving shells and other sea life and what to do with your new found treasures.

photo by fairystar_81 via Flickr

Pictured below are some of the most common shells you'll find on Perdido Key.

 

 Arks (turkey wings)

Augers

 

Bonnets

 

Conchs

Jewel Boxes

 Moon Shells

Murex

Nutmegs

Lettered Olives

Scallops

pictures and lots more info about the above pictured shells courtesy of Picard Realty Rentals

See you at the beach,
Susan

Happy Friday

Just to be held by the ocean is the best luck we could have. - Rumi

See you at the beach,

Susan

photo 'On The Surface' by Unknown via Pinterest

Mmmmm Corny!

It's at it's peak right now so here's a few different ways to serve our favorite, corn-on-the-cob.

Each topping recipe makes enough for 8 ears.

Basil-Mint Pesto

Puree 2 cloves garlic and 3/4 cup olive oil in a blender. With the machine running add 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves and 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, puree for 1 minute. Brush corn with pesto and season with coarse salt.

Southwest Spice

Combine 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon each ground toasted cumin and coriander seeds, and a 1/2 teaspoon course salt. Brush corn with olive oil and sprinkle with spices.

Black Pepper and Thyme

Brush corn with olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme: season with course salt and fresh ground pepper.

Lime Zest

Combine 1 Tablespoon freshly grated lime zest (from 2 limes) and 2 teaspoons course salt. Brush corn with olive oil and sprinkle with zest mixture.

You can substitute butter for olive oil in any of these.

from Martha Stewart Magazine July 2010

New Lower Sale Price

A cancellation has left us with last minute availability for August 22 - September 3, 2011 so we're offering the days for:

$170 per night for a 7 night stay, $210 per night for 4 - 6 nights and $250 per night for 3 nights all inclusive (not including a $100 per pet, pet fee if applicable)

Have a wonderful end of the summer vacation at a great, low price!
If interested please call Susan at 773 474 2456 or email info@goodhavenhouse.com.

Happy Friday

It was, Jennifer T. had to agree, a beautiful thunderstorm, its black wings beating at the summer air. It had lightening for talons and rain for plumage and it's eyes were alight with a static charge of ozone. 

It was a creature of storm, a big black bird made of thunder.

-from Michael Chabon's Summerland

photo 'Time To Pedal The Bike Faster' by elatawiec62 via Flickr

Buttermilk Ice Cream? Count Me In!

What's more deliciously southern than cold, real churned buttermilk?

Maybe buttermilk ice cream!

Available on-line from Cruze Farm Girl in Knoxville, Tennesse

OR if you're feeling really energetic you can make your own.

(Bring your own ice cream maker, we don't have one at the house)

Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Cream

active time: 15 minutes

total time: approx 2 hours 15 minutes

makes: 16 1/2 cup servings

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 10 lemons) 
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups whole milk
2 cups fat-free buttermilk

1. Combine sugar and juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add half-and-half, whole milk, and buttermilk.
2. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

 This recipe makes enough for two batches with the standard Cuisinart ice cream maker.

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Want to go over the top? But OF COURSE you say!! Add grilled peach halves, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with fresh basil. My eyes just rolled back in my head.